Correction appended.
Ohio will travel to North Carolina this weekend for games against Appalachian State and Davidson, who have a combined two wins on the season.
Goals have been scarce for the Bobcats (1-7, 0-1 MAC), with just three in the last seven games, which have all been losses. Kendall Ballard continues to lead the Bobcat offense with five goals on the season.
Defensively, Ohio has been playing well, but the opponents have been getting plenty of opportunities. Three goals have been scored against Ohio in four of its last five games. The more experience the freshmen backfield players, Claire Buckey and Leah Warren, get, the better they look. They are still adjusting to college field hockey, according to head coach Neil Macmillan.
Ohio has winning records against both of its opponents this week, only dropping one of ten games against Appalachian State in the team’s history. The Bobcats are 5-4 against Davidson, with this being the first meeting since 2006.
Appalachian State (2-6, 0-2 MAC) is in its first year in the MAC and has already played the top-two teams in the conference, losing to both Kent State and Miami. The Mountaineers’ non conference schedule tested the team. They lost to two ranked opponents, including No. 7 North Carolina.
In the losses to Kent State and Miami, the Mountaineers were close for the first 50 minutes before goals put the games out of reach.
Davidson (0-6, 0-1 A-10) is still searching for its first victory of the season and has struggled to score against good opponents, only scoring three goals on the season. The Wildcats are not lead by one player offensively. Three players have each tallied one goal and no one has more than 11 shots.
It should be a good weekend for the Ohio attack. Both defenses allow at least 3.75 goals per game and give up over fifteen shots a game. The most successful part of Ohio’s attack this season has been penalty corners and the Bobcats should get plenty this weekend; they will likely possess the ball more than in past games.
A loss Friday would put the Bobcats in a difficult situation to make the MAC tournament without winning all the remaining conference games.
Correction: A previous version of this report misspelled Neil Macmillan's name. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
