Ohio (5-13 overall, 3-6 Mid-American Conference) fell to Appalachian State (14-7 overall, 7-2 MAC) 3-1 during the semifinals of the MAC tournament in Harrisburg, VA. Ohio was seeded sixth, and App State was third. Sophomore Deborah James from England scored her first career goal late in the game, but by the time her shot found the back of the net, it was too late for Ohio as it was already down 3-0.
A key playmaker for App State was junior Sophia Baxter. Last week, she was named MAC defender of the week for the fourth time. She stayed hot, scoring her 14th goal this year while helping advance her Mountaineers to the next round of the MAC tournament.
The Mountaineers began the game strong. They earned a penalty corner within the first two minutes, but their two shots could not find the net. The Bobcats played tight defense and shut down the Mountaineers' three penalty corner attempts.
As the first period wound down, App State sophomore Frederique Grimberge scored an unassisted goal. The Dutch player earned her seventh and eighth goals of the season to start the game on fire.
Like the previous quarter, Ohio could not generate any offense in the second. The team took zero shots in the entire first half. Once again, App State created scoring chances early. Ohio goalie Ash Stephenson saved a quick shot, and the defense then held App State away from the shooting circle.
Although the Bobcats successfully defended against a penalty corner, they could not stop the Mountaineers forever. Grimberge put the ball away for her second goal of the game.
Those goals would put App State up 2-0 in the second quarter, giving it a very solid lead to hold onto for the rest of the game, especially with Ohio’s offense unable to generate any attack.
Ohio found its stride in the third period. Tiana Nhamoinesu and Sasha Dikotla each made a shot. App State goalie Claire Grenis stopped both and put an end to Ohio’s offensive attack. It was a tough game for the two Ohio attackers, especially after Tuesday, when Nhamoinesu and Dikotla were named All-MAC Second Team. Nhamoinesu also made the All-MAC freshman team.
Stephenson made two more saves at the start of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Mountaineers capitalized on their fifth and final penalty corner of the game. Baxter scored to give her team a 3-0 lead.
In the 58th minute, the Bobcats drew a penalty corner. Defender Emily Risser hit the ball in play. Karley DuCoin made a clean pass to James, who shot past the goalie and four masked defenders.
The Mountaineers move on in the tournament while the Bobcats set down their sticks for the year. Ohio has a bright future in store. Nhamoinesu and James will step into critical roles as talented seniors like Dikotla, Risser and Anouk Plaehn graduate.
