Ohio (5-9-5, 3-5-4 in the Mid-American Conference) traveled to Rudd Field to face off against UMass (5-7-4, 3-5-2 in the MAC), resulting in a 4-1 win for the Bobcats.
The win for Ohio gives the Bobcats a positive ending on a season that was a slight disappointment, as the team was already eliminated from MAC tournament contention before the game began. Regardless, a win against a solid UMass team after putting up four goals is a great end to the year.
The game started with the Minutewomen pushing down the field in the second minute, sending in a bottom-right shot that senior goalkeeper Celeste Sloma saved. The Bobcats started the scoring five minutes later, with a goal from senior Hailey Jeng, assisted by senior Ella Deevers.
With a corner kick near the end of the ninth minute, UMass sent a shot that missed the top right of the net. Ohio responded with four shots between the 14th and 18th minutes, including a shot from Deevers that Minutewomen goalkeeper Leah Nisenfeld saved. A minute later, the Minutewomen sent in a shot that missed wide of the net.
In the 20th minute, the Bobcats placed three straight shots from junior Jamaison Brooker and seniors Anna Burchett and Scout Murray. The shots added on to Brooker’s team-leading shot total, although they missed the mark and couldn’t find the back of the net.
After seven shots from both sides, Deevers scored the second goal of the game for the Bobcats in the 37th minute. Her goal was assisted by Maia Kaufman, giving Deevers a red-hot start to the game.
A minute later, Sloma made a bottom-center save before UMass collected the rebound and cut the deficit to 2-1 before the half. The goal was sent in by Aline Traber, giving the Minutewomen some solid momentum heading into the half.
In the second period, Sloma picked up her third save of the game in the 47th minute, keeping her good game going. Ohio extended its lead to 3-1 with a goal from junior Kate Robinson off a pass from senior Rayan Pruss just minutes later, taking complete control of the game. Then, just three minutes later, Burchett sent in her second shot of the game that Nisenfeld saved.
Ohio scored its fourth goal of the game from Kaufman, this time assisted by Brooker. The Bobcats continued to dominate the field with three straight shots in the 61st to 63rd minutes from Murray, Jeng, and Robinson. Sloma nabbed her second save of the half off a bottom-center shot from the Minutemen.
UMass redshirt freshman goalkeeper Julia Rosenberg shut down the Bobcats, including three straight saves in the 67th to 69th minutes with two shots from Murray and a shot from Pruss. Rosenberg picked up three more saves for the Minutewomen between the 75th and 80th minutes. The Minutewomen sent in two more shots before the final whistle, with the Bobcats winning 4-1.
The Bobcats outshot the Minutewomen 31-12. Deevers and Jeng ended the game with their first goals of the season each. Murray ended her career with a career high of eight shots, moving into third most on the team with 25. Robinson scored her second goal of the season, and Kaufman added her first goal and second assist of the season.
In her final game in the net for the Bobcats, Sloma finished with seven saves and one goal allowed.
