FARMVILLE, Va. – Tied at 1-1 entering the fourth quarter, the Ohio offense woke up with two late goals as the Bobcats avenged a game one loss with a 3-1 win over Longwood field hockey on Monday afternoon.
After trading goals a minute apart in the first quarter, the teams would remain tied until the 52:36 mark when Emma Spinetto received a pass from Jillian Shive on a penalty corner and buried a one-timer, putting the Bobcats up 2-1. Ohio doubled their lead under two minutes later, as Katelyn Whittle received a pass from the baseline from Sienna Sakich and put it home to give the Bobcats a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.
Ohio made 11 saves to slow down the pressuring Lancer attack, led by Macy Lotze's six in the final two quarters. She entered at halftime in relief of starting goalkeeper Nele Graner, who made three stops in the first 30 minutes of action while defenders Ashely Willbur and Leah Warren each notched a defensive save.
This stout defensive effort held off a Longwood offense that generated 19 shots and attempted 14 corners. Six Lancers attempted multiple shots, as Longwood totaled double-digit shots on goal for the second-consecutive match with 12 more on Monday.
Cammy Toddy was the lone Lancer to solve the Ohio defense, taking a pass from
Zoe Tierney in the middle of the circle and ripping a shot past Graner for her first goal of the season to give Longwood an early 1-0 lead under ten minutes into the game.
The Bobcats answered a minute later, as Lucy Davis got to a rebound in front of the Lancer net and smacked it home to level the score at 1-1.
Rio Weber made a defensive save on the goal line, stopping Shive at point blank range, but Davis was there to clean up the play for her second goal of the season.
The Ohio offense, after not recording a shot in the series opener on Sunday, started the first quarter with total shots including Davis' goal.
Madison Nuckols made six saves in net for Longwood, as the teams totaled 18 saves across six different players.
Still tied at 1-1 late in the third quarter,
Karly Harwood nearly gave the Lancers the lead. The senior forward got to a loose ball in the Ohio circle and got a shot on goal, but Willbur smacked it away at the goal line for the defensive save, keeping the game tied to the to end the third quarter.
Harwood nearly broke through again early in the fourth, as she ripped a shot that beat Lotze in goal but caught the bottom of the cross bar, bouncing straight down but not past the goal line as the Lancers were inches away from the go ahead goal. Warren followed a minute later with her second defensive save of the series for Ohio, denying
Kolbey Donahue's corner attempt to keep the game at 1-1 with 11:13 to play.
Ohio took advantage of their strong defensive play, as Spinetto and Whittle capitalized on the other end with a goal apiece to seal the win for the Bobcats. The game winner for Spinetto was the first of the season the senior, and her seventh goal of her four year career at Ohio.
In total, Longwood held the edge in shots (19-10) and penalty corners (14-4), while the Bobcats led in saves (11-7).
Up next for Longwood is a break from Mid-American Conference action, as they close their home slate against Bellarmine on Saturday, April 17 at 9:30 a.m.
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