Sunday’s Scoreboard
Virginia 1, Miami 0
Michigan 6, Ball State 0
Liberty 3, Longwood 0
Ohio 6, Central Michigan 1
Stories Courtesy Of MAC Sports Information
Virginia 1, Miami 0
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University field hockey team (7-7, 2-1 MAC) fell to No. 8 Virginia by a 1-0 margin on Sunday on international student appreciation day.
The Cavaliers scored on the first shot of the game for either team during the fourth minute of play off of a direct penalty corner feed.
The RedHawk defense limited the Virginia offense to just five shots and one penalty corner during the first half. Isabelle Perese made four saves in the first two quarters, including a diving stop and a jumping save to keep the scoreboard at 1-0 going into halftime.
Miami increased its offensive pressure in the second half, controlling possession for minutes at a time inside the attacking 25 but Virginia's defense stood tall to prevent the RedHawks from getting any shots off.
Perese made two more saves in the second half to bring her game total to six while the Miami defense limited Virginia to only four penalty corners.
Miami hosts Longwood on Friday in a conference matchup at 1 p.m. The game is the cancer awareness and red out game.
Michigan 6, Ball State 0
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ball State field hockey team (3-10) wrapped up play at the Buckeye Invitational Sunday afternoon against No. 11 Michigan (10-3). The Cardinals fell to the Wolverines by a score of 6-0.
No. 11 Michigan was the fifth ranked opponent and Big Ten team that the Cardinals have faced this season.
The Cardinals defense continues to speak volumes as freshman goalkeeper Wietske Overdijkink, who currently leads the Mid-American Conference in save percentage (90 percent) and goals against average (0.84) led all goalies today with 11 saves. Overdijkink now leads Ball State with 47 saves for the season.
Unfortunately, the Wolverines took the early 1-0 advantage over Ball State in the opening frame of action. The Cardinals managed to hold the Wolverines scoreless in the second period which only four teams have accomplished that feat this year against Michigan.
After halftime, Michigan added a goal in the third stanza and then found the back of the cage four more times in the final frame, pushing its lead to six.
Offensively, redshirt junior Rachel Pereira led the Cardinals with two shots including one attempt at the goal. Pereira leads the Cardinals this season in shots (22) and shots on goal (10).
The Ball State field hockey team returns to MAC action when it travels to Ohio University Friday. The game is slated for a 3 p.m. ET start in Athens.
Liberty 3, Longwood 0
Box Score
FARMVILLE, Va. – Facing one of the top teams in the country, the Lancers did what they could to stay in the game before eventually falling short.
The Longwood field hockey team was defeated 3-0 by No. 15 Liberty on Sunday afternoon at Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field. After keeping the game close with a scoreless first half, the Lancers allowed two penalty corner goals in the second half before the Lady Flames capped off the match with a late goal.
"We defended really well for long periods of time in that game," said head coach Iain Byers. "We knew that it was going to be a defensive battle—not letting them score an open field goal until the very end was a good thing for us. It was a good test for us. There are some positive and negative things we can take away from this game."
Longwood (6-6, 2-1 MAC) managed to hold Liberty (8-3, 3-1 Big East), who entered the game averaging 3.40 goals per contest, off the board for the first 40 minutes of game action. However, an impressive Lady Flame penalty corner unit that entered the game with 11 goals off the set play this season was able to break through late in the third quarter. Mallory Fortenbaugh inserted the corner before getting a pass back towards the side of the goal from teammate Daniella Rhodes and redirected it into the Lancer goal to grab the first lead of the game, 1-0.
The pair would combine for another corner goal early in the fourth, again coming on a pass from Rhodes and finish by Fortenbaugh to double the Liberty lead to 2-0. Jill Bolton added an unassisted goal with just 17 seconds left after a turnover as the Lady Flames went on to win, 3-0.
"Their corner routine is very impressive, and they are a very good team," added Byers. "They are No. 15 in the country for a reason."
Two-time All-MAC performer Katie Wyman made nine saves in goal for the Lancers, as she did all she could to hold the high-powered Liberty offense at bay. Assisting her on the backline of the defense was Luna Lopez, Rio Weber, and Clara Meschini, who helped prevent an open-field goal until the very end of the match. Offensively for Longwood, Meschini led the way with two total shots.
Up next for the Lancers is a MAC showdown with reigning MAC tournament champion Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio. The match will be on Friday, Oct. 18 and is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
Ohio 6, Central Michigan 1
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio Field Hockey (6-5, 3-1) takes down Central Michigan (2-11, 0-3) 6-1 on the road in Mount Pleasant.
The Bobcats went into their fourth conference game with an opportunity to go into a tie for second place in the Mid-American Conference standings with a win over the Chippewas. With that in mind, Ohio came out firing on all cylinders, scoring three goals in the first quarter. The first came just 1:54 into the game when junior Emma Spinetto (Louisville, Ky.) tallied her first goal of the season to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. Then, senior Karynne Baker (Falls Church, Va.) scored goals two and three for Ohio, putting the Bobcats up big before Central Michigan could settle in.
In the second period, Ohio goalkeeper redshirt senior Sophia Boothby (Spotsylvania, Va.) made four saves, one against CMU's leading goal-scorer Alice O'Hagan. Freshman Katelyn Whittle (Glenwood, Md.) put home the Bobcats' fourth goal with 2:08 left before halftime, assisted by Baker.
A quiet third quarter for both teams created a busy fourth quarter, with Ohio tallying two more goals, one from junior Leah Warren (Hamilton, New Zealand), and the other from freshman Lucy Davis (Kettering, Ohio), the first of her career. CMU's Alice O'Hagan scored her seventh goal of the season with about eight minutes left in the game, but that was not enough to stop the great performance on the Ohio offensive side.
Overall, Ohio out-shot Central Michigan 18-14, with the Chippewas gaining more advantages from penalty corners (9-7).
The Bobcats come home for the rest of the regular season, starting with a MAC matchup with Ball State on Friday, Oct. 18 at Pruitt Field. Frist touch is scheduled for 3 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 20 Ohio gets their last chance at a Big Ten foe when the Indiana Hoosiers come to Athens. First touch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
