Then-senior Berta Queralt (18) battles for the ball during a game against Penn State Oct. 19, 2012, at Buckeye Varsity Field. OSU lost, 3-0.
Credit: Courtesy of Facebook
The Ohio State field hockey team struggled as it finished a road trip to Syracuse, N.Y., with an 0-2 record.
The Buckeyes fell short to No. 7 Massachusetts Saturday and then again Sunday to No. 6 Syracuse. Both games ended with a score of 1-0. Although the team came out on the losing end in both games, OSU coach Anne Wilkinson said it was not due to their efforts.
“We played great field hockey overall,” Wilkinson said. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the net.”
Both games were scoreless in the first half, but the Buckeyes gave up a single second half goal in each, falling to 2-4 on the year.
During Sunday’s match, junior goalkeeper Sarah Lemieux had eight saves against Syracuse. After back-to-back saves by Lemieux, Syracuse was able to score on a penalty corner with just over four minutes to go in the game.
Wilkinson said she was impressed with her goalkeeper, but wishes the team could have taken advantage of the defense it played.
“I think we had great defense,” Wilkinson said. “Sarah (Lemieux) had a lot of great saves during crucial times.”
Lemieux said the defense as whole played well, despite the losses.
“I thought we played solid defense the whole weekend. We made huge efforts to tackle to ball and stop them from scoring.”
In Saturday’s match UMass outshot the Buckeyes 10-8. OSU had more opportunities with the penalty corners, 6-5, but could not capitalize on them to finish the game.
The match against Syracuse was much more one-sided, despite the Orange failing to open the scoring until the 66th minute. The home side out shot the Buckeyes 20-6, including 9 shots on goal.
Sophomore midfield Emma Royce provided the best chance in the first half for the Buckeyes but was denied by the Syracuse sophomore goalkeeper Jess Jecko.
OSU is set to take on Miami(Ohio) Wednesday in Oxford at 5:30 p.m.
