After the lacrosse matchup between Ohio and Ohio State on Sunday, one of the teams will have its first American Lacrosse Conference win.
The Bobcats (3-8, 0-2 ALC) will play host to the Buckeyes (1-9, 0-1) where both teams will be looking to rebound after losses. Ohio suffered a 14-5 loss at Virginia Tech on Tuesday and Ohio State fell to No. 10 Notre Dame, 13-6, in Columbus.
It will be a big game because of the rivalry with them being the closest school to us that plays lacrosse
coach Allison Valentino said. We are trying to get better as a team and are really working for our first conference win too.
Playing well from the start is the primary focus for the Bobcats, who definitely did not do that against the Hokies. They quickly fell behind 4-0 at Virginia Tech and from there on could not get anything going offensively nor could they stop the Hokies' attack.
We need to get off to a good start so things can get rolling and going our way Valentino said. Virginia Tech scored some goals early and we weren't as resilient as I would have liked. It was just a tough start
so we need to make sure we come out strong against Ohio State.
Ohio's defense allowed Virginia Tech to get 32 shots on goal because they were unable to take control of the ball. Though the team made some early stops against the Hokies, the defense wore down as the team failed to clear the ball on offense.
The 'Cats know they must prevent burning out on defense by clearing the ball against the pressure the Buckeyes will supply in order to be successful.
We seemed to be on defense too much against (the Hokies)
we could get stops
but we kept giving them more opportunities and weren't able to get the ball up the field
Valentino said. We know Ohio State will pressure us all over the field
but we need to make sure we make the right decisions.
Last season the Bobcats lost to the Buckeyes 9-8 in Columbus against a different squad than the Buckeyes will be sending to Athens this weekend.
Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Peggy Pruitt Field. ' Nick Miller
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