Ohio has struggled with finishing off the goals and the games.
Twice this past weekend Ohio had potential wins in their paws but a goal in the final two minutes against Buffalo left the Bobcats with a tie and a goal in the last second against Kent State left the Bobcats defeated and making it near impossible to have a home field advantage for the MAC tournament.
This is not the first time that Ohio has collapsed late in the game however. In fact the Bobcats have made it an unusual routine that could be their undoing in the MAC tournament. Ohio has been scored on to lose or be tied five times this season.
First against Morehead State, the game remained tied 1-1 until three minutes left when Morehead State scored to take the winner. The next weekend Ohio held Ohio State scoreless for 109 minutes, taking the Buckeyes to the last minute of overtime and losing in that final minute.
A month later on Oct. 14 Ohio took on Miami and after holding the lead for a majority of the game, gave up a late goal with 10 seconds remaining in regulation time. Miami would then go on to score with three minutes left in the second overtime to lose.
The next weekend, against Buffalo, Ohio once again had the lead 1-0 and with two and half minutes in regulation, Buffalo scored to end the game a 1-1 draw after two overtimes. Two days later on Oct. 23 Ohio would hold Kent State to 0-0 until Kent State scored with one second left in the game to win.
The Bobcats have made it more than a habit of giving up late goals and collapsing with three minutes or less left in the game. Two of the five overtimes the Bobcats have had this year have been because of a goal being scored with less than three minutes in the game.
At the heart of the stats is not so much physical conditioning but mental toughness, something Ohio has lacked throughout the season and has been something that it their undoing. When the team is focused they play exceptional with the offense and defense clicking, but that focus and high level of play has to be for the 90 minutes of the game or 110 minutes of the game and not 87 or 108 minutes.
Each of the five games in which the Bobcats lost or tied were games that could have been easily won if Ohio had held on for the full game. Going into MAC tournament play especially, the Bobcats will need to correct this if they want to capture another MAC championship. With one game left in the regular season, Ohio will need to work fast to figure out how to play 90 minutes and not 89.
