Sept. 30, 2007

Box Score |  Buffalo Game Photo Gallery 

ATHENS, Ohio - Whatever ailed the Bobcats in the non-conference season, MAC play has certainly been the cure.

Lindsey Price (West Chester) scored her first goal of the season, Erika Schmitt (Wyoming) added her team-leading third goal of 2007 and Ohio defeated Buffalo 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Chessa Field.

The Bobcats (2-5-2) recorded their second win in a row and remained unbeaten in conference contests after posting a 0-5-2 record in non-conference games.

Price scored in the 31st minute when a ball slipped past the Buffalo (3-6-1, 0-2 MAC) defense and the senior fired a shot over Buffalo keeper Amy Coron, putting the Bobcats ahead early.

Ohio's lead grew to two goals when Danielle Young (Mason) returned a Buffalo clearing pass back into the goal box and Schmitt corralled it and slipped a shot past Coron. The Buffalo defense was attempting to clear the ball after one of the 11 Ohio corner kicks, all in the second half.

The Bobcat offense applied consistent pressure, particularly at the beginning of both halves; as a result Ohio held a whopping 11-2 corner kick advantage in its second win of the season.

"An inch here or there made a difference today and the post got in the way a few times (of shots), but we were pleased with how dangerous we were," said head coach Stacy Strauss.

The Ohio offense also recorded 11 shots on goal, the second straight game where Ohio has topped 10 shots on goal. While two of the 11 resulted in scores, Coron saved seven and the Buffalo defense picked up two team saves. One in particular stood out as an Ohio shot had gotten past Coron but a UB defender flicked a sure score off the goal line before it broke the plane.

For the second straight game, Strauss chose to play defender Larissa Najjar (Columbus) at forward, using the 5-foot-6 senior co-captain on the attack. The move has not only sparked the Bobcats offense in the past two victories, it has allowed freshman Sarah Brown (North Royalton) to join sophomore Rachael Goulding (Toronto, Ontario) on the outsides of the Bobcat defense. Along with senior Kristin Miller, the corners of the backline have clicked.

"Larissa has been one of our most dangerous offensive players but we've been waiting for the right time to move her up," Strauss said. "With the addition of Sarah Brown we have a good amount of depth on the back so it allows her to move to forward. Those three (Goulding, Brown, and Miller) are all going to play on the outside and I am very confident in all three of them."

Ohio keeper Jess MacLean (Loveland) added seven saves in her ninth straight start to her season total of 36 and dropped her goals against average to 1.08. MacLean has played in 833 minutes this season.

Ohio hosts another pair of MAC games this weekend, with a battle against Ball State on Friday and Miami heading to Athens on Sunday afternoon.

----------------------

Joe Waltasti is the women's soccer contact for the Ohio media relations office. He can be reached via email at waltasti@ohio.edu and in the office at 740-593-0054.