Ohio State senior forward Makenna Webster (28) pressures her Maryland counterpart during No. 23 Ohio States (4-2) matchup against No. 3 Maryland (7-0) on Sept. 16. Maryland won 4-2. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Lantern File
In their second home game of the season, the Buckeyes are now on a four-game winning streak after beating the Bucknell Bisons 2-1 Sunday at Buckeye Varsity Field.
Head coach Jarred Martin has high expectations. He said the game was a good battle, but he hopes for a shutout this season.
Within the first 15 minutes of the match, there were two shots, one save, and two penalty corners for Ohio State, but no goal until senior forward Makenna Webster made an unassisted goal with 11 seconds left in the first quarter.
“Makenna Webster upfront is a game-changer,” Martin said. “She just works a lot off and on the ball, offense and defense, and she creates a lot of great plays for us.”
In the second quarter, both the Buckeyes and Bisons looked sharp. Sophomore back Katie Fitchner said the Buckeyes focused on moving the ball well and inside-outside passing. The second quarter came to an end with no additional scoring.
Junior forward Hallie Brost had an impressive save coming right off of a penalty corner to start the second half, further preventing the Bisons’ first goal. In Sunday’s game she played a season-high 36 minutes.
Only three minutes into the second half, the second goal was scored by Brost with a sharp assist from Webster, putting the Buckeyes up 2-0. The score became 2-0 and stayed there for the rest of the third quarter.
Webster, who leads the Buckeyes in goals this season with four, said she recognizes her role as a veteran and upperclassman.
“I think I’m just trying to bring energy and momentum,” Webster said. “We have a lot of people this year on the team with lots of experience and a lot more confidence coming into this year.”
It seemed to be smooth sailing for the Buckeyes in the final quarter until junior forward-midfielder Isabella Pavlides from the Bisons scored the team’s first goal at the 6:10 mark.
In the final moments the energy was still high. Bucknell was doing its best to attempt a second goal and tie the game while Ohio State was trying its best to prevent that, leading to two yellow cards handed out to Bucknell players Rachel Apa and Hope Davis in the last 2 1/2 minutes.
“I think sometimes we put ourselves in positions that could have been better, but happy for the team and getting another win,” Martin said.
In search of a fifth consecutive win, the Buckeyes will take on the University of California, Davis Monday in Columbus at 2 p.m.
