Women's field hockey: Buckeyes remain winless in Big Ten after loss to Michigan

In search for its first conference win, Ohio State's field hockey team fell just short against Michigan Sunday losing 3-2 in Ann Arbor.

In addition to a conference win, the No. 19 Buckeyes (8-6, 0-3 Big Ten) were looking to redeem an overtime loss to the Wolverines (6-6, 2-0 Big Ten) from last season.

Despite taking the early lead and out-shooting their opponents 15-7, the Bucks weren't able to put the Wolverines away in the end.

Ohio State junior midfielder Melissa Palm opened up the game quickly with a goal 24 seconds into the game, her second in as many games.

The Buckeyes would not hold that lead, however, allowing two unanswered goals before the half.

Heading into the second half down 2-1, Ohio State sophomore midfielder Aisling McKeon evened the score at 2-2 with eight minutes left to play in the game. Michigan's Alicia Mayer would break the tie just four minutes later to put the Wolverines up a goal with only three-and-a-half minutes left to play.

Ohio State could not take advantage of its numerous opportunities. After a fairly even first half, splitting shots 5-5, the Buckeyes took control in the second half taking a 10-2 shot advantage. The Buckeyes also had 10 penalty corners in the game, compared to Michigan's one, but only scored off one of them.

With the loss, the Buckeyes fall to 0-3 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2004 and are on the first two-game, regular season losing streak to Michigan since the 1999 and 2000 seasons. The Wolverines now lead the overall series 33-20-2.

With only three conference games remaining in the season, Ohio State will need to finish strong to better position itself in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. The team will look to start that and vie for its first conference win in its next game Friday in Indiana.

Kyle Fischer can be reached at fischer.443@osu.edu.