A young Ohio lacrosse team will have its hands full today and Sunday in what will be a challenging opening weekend for the Bobcats.
We've returned our entire defense and we're feeling solid as far as that's concerned
coach Kate Brew said. With a lot of younger players we are definitely playing a different style of game than last year.
Ohio finished 8-8 overall last season, 3-3 in the American Lacross Conference, and will turn to young stars and a solid defense when the team begins the 2005 season with a pair of non-conference games against Duquesne and No. 20 Notre Dame.
We played last weekend in a mini-tournament at Loyola and we've done a lot of inter-squad scrimmaging Brew said. We did well. We learned a lot and we grew as a team.
Ohio will have to find its game quickly in its season opener against Duquesne, who has already seen action -a 16-4 loss to No. 4 Duke and a 12-10 win against Denver last weekend. The Bobcats defeated Duquesne 11-8 last season.
The Fighting Irish have also been busy competing in exhibition games against Team Canada, No. 10 Dartmouth and No. 15 Boston University.
Ohio will be looking to avenge a 13-8 loss to then-No. 3 Notre Dame last April.
The good news for the Bobcats is that their season is starting at home where Ohio went 6-0 last season with big wins against then-No. 18 Penn State and interstate rival Ohio State.
We play very well at home
Brew said. The girls love the field and they feel very comfortable there. I would definitely say
starting off with a young team
it's nice to be in our comfort zone.
Ohio will have a big hole to fill on offense with the loss of Lynz Keys, who led the Bobcats with 52 goals, 60 points and 103 shots.
Dana Dobbie, who was named to the ALC Preseason Team, may be that answer for Ohio. Despite missing five games last season after suffering a concussion, Dobbie still racked up 34 goals and 14 assists for 48 points while winning key draw controls for the Bobcats.
Dana is a go-to player and she's going to continue to be that
Brew said. She's a spark regardless of where she is on the field and brings energy to the team. We know she's going to be heavily marked
double-and triple-teamed
so we're really looking to spread our scoring out this year.
Dobbie led the Bobcats last season with 57 draw controls, including a school record 15 draws against St. Mary's.
Ohio will square off with Duquesne today at 3 p.m. and with Notre Dame at 1 p.m. Sunday. Both games are at Peggy Pruitt Field and admission is free.
-Mark Shugar
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