The Falcon women’s soccer team traveled south to Columbus Friday night but came up on the short end against Ohio State.

In the first game of the season, the Buckeyes upended the Falcons 2-0. For BG, the conditions meant it was a tough way to open the season – being a non-conference game on the road against a Big Ten opponent.

But giving his team a test was exactly what coach Andy Richards planned to do in the season opener.

‘I wanted to give my team a good challenge right off the bat,’ Richards said. ‘It served its purpose.’

BG came out with a lot of heart, but with that heart came a lot of early nerves too as OSU outshot the Falcons 11-0 in the first half.

The Falcons did settle down though, and only gave up one goal during each hard-played half.

‘We struggled turning from defense to offense and keeping position,’ Richards said.

These struggles led Ohio State in dominating shot attempts on goal 27-3 for the game. The Buckeyes were led by Paige Maxwell and Kayla Eckman, who both scored.

Richards did, however, commend the team’s defensive efforts, but said they needed to work on the transition game.

‘We attacked the basics in practice the next day,’ he said.

Richards did have nothing but praise for the goalie Alexa Arsenault – who had eight saves in the game.

‘She had several memorable saves,’ Richards said. ‘She saved it from being a big defeat.’

Other players who stepped up for the Falcons in contributing to a hard fought game, included Katelyn Turner and Jen Czapka.

Richards was also impressed with the play from freshmen Sarah VonderBrink and Keely Chandler. Both freshmen came off the bench and showed they were able to play at the collegiate level.

But at the end of the day, the Buckeyes were just plain better.

‘Ohio State is just a better team,’ Richards said. ‘Had we had a few more weeks we could have played a better game.’

The Falcons are off until Friday when they host Indiana State at Cochrane Stadium at 5 p.m.

‘We haven’t played Indiana State in a while,’ Richards said. ‘It will be a different challenge.’

Until then the Falcons will be working hard during practice.

‘It’s great to practice, but it’s the games where you really learn,’ Richards said.