Ohio State’s field hockey team fell to Rutgers 3-2 in a penalty shootout on Oct. 9. Caption: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics.
Ohio State had already climbed out of a two-goal hole.
It had survived regulation and overtime.
But when the game came down to three penalty shots, Rutgers goalkeeper Emily Nicholls stopped every one.
The Buckeyes’ comeback ended there, as Rutgers escaped with a 3-2 win and Ohio State remained winless in Big Ten play.
“I feel like the mistakes we were making were just costing us goals–especially early in the period,” head coach Jarred Martin said.?
Rutgers’ Anna Cogdell put the Scarlet Knights on the scoreboard first in the second quarter, then Olivia Fraticelli added a second goal, taking advantage of a Buckeye turnover.
Ohio State, outscored by a combined seven goals in its last three games, fell behind 2-0 in the third quarter.
But the Buckeyes wouldn’t go away.?
Ohio State junior forward Sienna Golden capitalized on Rutgers being down a player from a green card, which suspends the receiving player for two minutes. Golden, Ohio State’s leading scorer this season, put a long pass into the net.?
Momentum shifted towards the Buckeyes.
In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Emily Barker scored a penalty stroke to tie the game 2-2.??
“I like the way we were able to come back [and] put some pressure on them,” said Martin. “I thought we had good phases where we controlled play and looked sharp and had some good attacking opportunities.”
The game remained tied through the rest of regulation, and after a scoreless overtime period, the match went to a penalty shootout.??
Rutgers’ first three shooters found the net; meanwhile, Ohio State’s three attempts were saved. The Scarlet Knights then rushed to their goalkeeper, celebrating their first Big Ten win of the season.?
Martin described what he wants Ohio State, who remain winless in Big Ten play, to improve on for the rest of the season.?
“I think our [offensive] connection in those transition moments,” Martin said. “I think we’re missing some really dangerous attacking opportunities, and some of it is just an awareness piece, so we were really pushing that the last couple of weeks.”
Martin praised how his team pressed Rutgers’ defense near their own goal, creating risky situations for the Scarlet Knights.?
“We really put them under some good pressure to spark some attack, ” Martin said. “There were moments here and there that I thought we could have taken advantage of, so we’ll keep building on that moving forward.”?
Martin wants to carry these elements into the rest of the season as the Buckeyes next face Penn State on the road on Oct. 16, where they will look to find their first Big Ten win.?
