Bobcats Beat Huskies on Senior Day, 1-0

by Brett Compton

October 21, 2012

ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio Soccer’s chances at making its fourth consecutive Mid-American Conference Tournament appearance improved significantly on Sunday as the Bobcats earned a 1-0 Senior Day victory over the visiting Northern Illinois Huskies.

Senior midfielder Cathryn Rogers fittingly proved to the hero for the Green and White on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Chessa Field, scoring her seventh goal of the season on a free kick in the 61st minute to give the ‘Cats the 1-0 win. The goal was the 13th of her career, placing her in a tie for ninth place in program history with Lindsey Price (2004-07).

Mattie Liston (Lakewood, Ohio) made four saves in the match, earning her sixth shutout of the season and the 16th of her career. She is now only 11 stops away from becoming Ohio’s all-time leader in goalkeeper saves.

The teams traded possession throughout the first 20 minutes of the match, with each side registering two total shots. Liz Finley (Mason, Ohio) recorded the first attempt on target, testing Amy Carr at the near post in the 14th minute. This portion of the match was also full of physical play in the midfield, as the teams combined for eight total fouls during this span.

Ohio (8-8-1, 3-5-1 MAC) controlled much of the offensive play throughout the first period, generating seven total shots. The Bobcats held a 3-1 edge in shots on goal in the first 45 minutes.

The Huskies (7-8-2, 3-5-2 MAC) came out strong to begin the second half, pressuring Ohio’s defense on multiple occasions. The Bobcats were able to absorb this pressure well, limiting the number of quality chances allowed to the visitors.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Northern Illinois committed a foul in its own end to set up an Ohio free kick. Erin Feeney stepped up to take the kick and alertly spotted an open Rogers (Etobicoke, Ontario) a few feet away. Feeny’s pass found Rogers in a good spot, and she was able to drive a hard shot into the penalty area from 30 yards away. Due to the good placement of the ball, the attempt traveled past the NIU defense and landed in front of an onrushing Amy Carr in net. The ball bounced in front of Carr, traveled over her outstretched arms and found its way into the corner of the net to make it 1-0.

The goal was the ninth game-winning goal of Rogers’ career.

Ohio will next be in action on Thursday, Oct. 25 at Kent State. The Bobcats and Golden Flashes will kick off at 3 p.m.

Ohio Starting XI (Numerically): Liston (GK), Murnane, Rogers, Howard, Feeney, Rock, Schwenke, Bechtel, Hausfeld, Finley, Campbell

Goals:
Ohio – Cathryn Rogers 7 (Erin Feeney 1) 61’