Bobcats Host Ball State, Miami on Final Home Weekend :: Senior Day set for Sunday against Miami

Oct. 23, 2008

ATHENS, Ohio -

With only three Mid-American Conference games remaining in the regular season and the MAC Tournament two weeks away, the Ohio field hockey team squares off in two critical MAC games at Pruitt Field this weekend. The Bobcats (6-10, 4-3 MAC) sit alone in third place in the league standings, one game out of second, which is where Ohio needs to be to receive a first-round bye in the tournament.

“These final home matches are more critical this year based on the fact that we haven’t been performing as well as we have the last few seasons,” Ohio head coach Neil Macmillan said. “You have to take care of business during the regular season to make sure you earn one of the top two spots and get that first-round bye, and we haven’t been doing that. We’ve already dropped three games in conference, so we have to take things one game at a time and make sure we finish strong.”

The Bobcats host Ball State (2-12, 1-5 MAC) Saturday and Miami (11-5, 5-2 MAC), who resides in second place, Sunday, which will also be Senior Day. Both matches are slated to start at 1 p.m. with Ohio’s five seniors being recognized prior to Sunday’s showdown with Miami.

Ohio’s senior class (Estienne Coetzee, Rachelle Coetzee, Nikki Gnozzio, Jessie Martin and Lauren Stahlhuth) has accumulated a 45-36 overall record in their four years of playing for the Green and White and a 27-11 record in the Mid-American Conference, as well as two MAC Tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The team’s 18 wins in 2007 was the second-most in Ohio history. All five seniors have been named to the Academic All-MAC Team and the NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad at least once in their careers.

“The five seniors were in place when I arrived (in 2005),” Macmillan said. “Nikki, Jessie and Lauren were recruited by the previous coach and the Coetzee sisters came as soon as I got here, so they’ve been here since I started and helped with the change of attitude we’ve seen within the program. We’re very disappointed as a team when we lose to a top-five team like Michigan State and especially when we take them so close (Ohio lost 2-1 in double overtime Oct. 18), but that’s the level we’re at right now. It’s been four good years with them. They really adapted when I came on board and put us in a good place as a program”

Goalie Jessie Martin (Louisville, Ky.), the 2007 MAC Player of the Year, is averaging 1.84 goals against and has 91 saves on the year for Ohio. Two-time All-MAC performer Rachelle Coetzee (Bloemfontein, S.A.) leads the team with 20 points, on nine goals and two assists. The nine goals are a team best, while her sister, Estienne Coetzee (Bloemfontein, S.A.), is tied for second on the team with Nikki Gnozzio (Flanders, N.J.) and junior Katelyn Shelley (Ephrata, Pa.), who each have three goals. Gnozzio leads the team with six assists. Rachelle also leads Ohio with 40 shots, while junior Marcy Dull (Ephrata, Pa.) is second on the team with 27 shots, but has a team-high 17 shots on goal.

Ball State ended an 11-game losing streak last weekend, earning their first MAC win of the year, a 6-2 decision over Missouri State. The Cardinals’ other win was a 2-0 defeat of Davidson early in the season. Freshman Brittany Hammer leads the Cardinals with six goals and 15 points. Her three assists are tied for the team lead with junior Brooke MacGillivary. Senior Jodi Mann has taken a team-high 29 shots and also has four defensive saves. Junior goalie Tiffany Shifflett has started all 14 games in goal for BSU and has a 3.69 goals against average and a 64.6 save percentage.

In the two teams’ first meeting this season on Oct. 4, Ohio defeated Ball State, 4-0, in Muncie, Ind., behind two goals from Rachelle Coetzee. Ohio is 25-33 all-time against Ball State and has won four straight and 19 of the last 20 meetings with the Cardinals, dating back to 2001. Ohio hasn’t lost to Ball State at home since 1998.

Miami enters the weekend riding a two-game winning streak and packs a powerful offense that averages 3.25 goals a game, ranking 10th nationally and first in the MAC, and has scored five or more goals in a game five times this year. The RedHawks also average 8.88 penalty corners per game, good enough for sixth in the nation and first in the MAC, three corners per game better than Ohio, who is second.

Junior Katie Brightwell has a team-best eight goals, but nine RedHawks have at least three goals on the season. Senior Elizabeth Gilroy leads the team with eight assists and is tied for second on the team with seven goals. Seven RedHawks have taken 26 shots or more on the year. Freshman goalie Abbey Huck has seen the majority of time in goal, starting in 13 games and playing in 14. Huck has three shutouts, a 1.85 goals against average and a 68.7 save percentage on the year.

The ’Cats played at Miami on Oct. 5, where they fell to the RedHawks, 2-1. Ohio is 21-29 all-time against Miami and has won five of the last six matches.

Fans that can’t make the games can follow all the action live via Gametracker at ohiobobcats.com.

WEEKLY NOTES

A Family Affair: Sunday’s match-up with Miami features a pair of sisters facing off against each other. Ohio senior Lauren Stahlhuth (St. Louis, Mo.) has started 14 games this year, while her sister, KC, is a sophomore back for Miami. Lauren has four assists on the year, while KC has seen action in five games for the RedHawks and has one assist.

High School Hook-ups: A few Bobcats will be playing against former high school teammates in Sunday’s game versus Miami. Freshman Jenna Green (Wescosville, Pa.) will go against fellow Emmaus High grad and Miami freshman goalie Abbey Huck, while freshman Jen McGill (Louisville, Ky.) will see Miami’s Katie and Christine Brightwell, all three of whom attended Assumption High School together in Louisville.

Two for the Win: Ohio is 5-0 when scoring two or more goals this season; however, the ’Cats are only 2-8 when allowing two or more goals.

One-goal Wonders: Ten of Ohio’s games this season have been decided by one goal, with the Bobcats going 4-6 in those contests. The Bobcats have played four overtime games so far this season, three against currently-ranked teams, with three going into double overtime. The ’Cats are 1-3 in their overtime games this season. Their double-overtime loss at Michigan State Oct. 18 was the fourth-straight season in which Ohio lost to the Spartans by a goal and the second-straight in overtime.

Afraid of No One: The Bobcats have played a brutal non-conference schedule this year, with the seventh-toughest schedule in the country prior to MAC play and the 17th-toughest schedule currently (tops in the MAC), according to fieldhockeycorner.com. Ohio has faced seven teams currently ranked in the Top 20 of the STX/NFHCA Coaches' Poll.

For complete weekly notes, click the link at the top.