Four straight games unbeaten, homecoming just a few days away and a matchup against an Ohio team coming off back-to-back ties to begin Mid-American Conference (MAC) play — it felt like the perfect revenge game for the Falcons against the team that knocked them out of the conference tournament last season.
However, it was the opposite, as the Bobcats walked off a beat-up pitch at Cochrane Stadium with a 3-0 victory.
Ohio dominated possession for most of the match, outshooting the Falcons 19-11. The Bobcats also doubled BGSU’s shots on goal, 12-6.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a difficult game all around. I mean, we knew going into the game, it was going to be kind of one of those where it was going to be a match made in heaven or a matchup nightmare,” BGSU head coach Chris Fox said postgame.
With Ohio utilizing their press defense and trying to force man-to-man matchups, Fox and the Falcons adapted their strategy in the first half.
“So, we thought, okay, let’s try it and see what happens, and it’s a risky strategy for both teams, right? Like if we were man-for-man in the build, which makes it tough, there’s no additional players,” Fox said. “But if you do break through, which we did, it’s three-on-three in the back, and that’s a risk for them, right? So, with our pacing forwards, we felt like we caused some problems, and we did, but we just needed to make something happen.”
After allowing a late goal, which Fox called “a little naive,” the Falcons changed their strategy for the final 45 minutes.
“Then, obviously, second half, we shifted to something a little safer, more numbers around the ball. So, that way, we can more kind of settle down because it just was too frantic, and I think players that are used to playing big minutes, we’re getting tired and exhausted because of the amount of running,” Fox said. “Because you have to be precise. If you’re not precise, you’re just going to transition on transition on transition, and that’s what the game became.”
Regardless of their formation, Ohio’s offense and defense gave BG trouble the entire night.
“I think offensively, they could just get numbers up. They were really good at just kind of like finding that blindside run, catching us off guard,” sophomore forward Emma Stransky said. “Then, I mean, for us, it’s about deception. I didn’t really feel like we were very deceptive in our attack. We still had opportunities, but, you know, I think they probably did a little bit better of a job just recovering.”
While Bowling Green will have to wait even longer for revenge against Ohio, the team is fully focused on their next match against Miami (OH).
“It’s a new opponent. We just keep looking forward; we don’t need to look back. We need to tighten some things up and improve,” Fox said. “So, for us, all eyes are on Miami now. Fresh start, new game and let’s get back to what we’re good at.
