Ohio State senior forward/midfielder Maddy Humphrey prepares for play during the Buckeyes’ 1-0 loss to Michigan on Sept. 22. Credit: Colin Hass-Hill | Sports Editor
In her last game playing in front of a home crowd at Buckeye Varsity field, Ohio State senior forward Maddy Humphrey scored the Buckeyes’ second goal of the game and the final home goal of her collegiate career with 12 minutes remaining.
The goal would prove to be the game winner as No. 24 Ohio State (9-7, 2-5) went on to defeat Indiana (6-11, 0-7) 2-1 on senior day on Friday.
“Right before I went in, my teammate, [freshman back Juliette Duquesne], she goes, ‘Last 19 minutes on this pitch ever,’” Humphrey said. “And I was like, ‘Why’d you have to tell me that?’
“So then right when I scored, what did she say? ‘Hey, how about those last 19 minutes though?’”
Less than three minutes into the second half, senior Maartje Bongers scored the equalizer with 32 minutes remaining to spark the comeback. It was her fifth goal of the season. Humphrey and sophomore forward/midfielder Esther Clotet Alsina assisted on the score.
Humphrey’s assist on the goal was the 110th point of her career, tying the senior forward for seventh all time in program history. Bongers’ fifth goal gave her 16 points on the season, both good for second on the team behind only Humphrey.
“It’s good when someone else scores, but when you score yourself, it feels special,” Bongers said.
The Buckeyes’ stout defense faced adversity early when Hoosiers’ freshman forward Bente Buwalda scored on a pass from sophomore forward Sheridan Weiss, the only Indiana goal of the game.
Head coach Jarred Martin said Ohio State was slow to get into a rhythm and needed to play with more speed and aggressive, quick passing.
“At halftime we went in and (the seniors) said, ‘We just have to make sure we pay attention to some details and figure out a couple things that we need to change,’” Martin said.
Ohio State came out aggressively and drew a penalty corner two minutes and 16 seconds into the second half which led to Bongers’ goal.
After 20 minutes of scoreless play following the game-tying goal, Ohio State fought to get the ball into Hoosier territory. An Indiana defender missed the ball as she tried to clear it from the goal and Humphrey capitalized as the senior scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season.
“I don’t really remember how it got to me,” Humphrey said. “I just remember being like, ‘OK coach told me just trap and shoot,’ and that’s all I did.”
Senior goalkeeper Liz Tamburro faced a penalty corner in the final minutes, but stopped the Hoosier attempt to secure the victory.
Although a 9-7 record might not stand out, the Buckeyes have improved in Martin’s first season. They defeated three opponents which were ranked at the time of the matchups (No. 9 Louisville, No. 11 Stanford and No. 18 Rutgers) and will have an opportunity to play No. 25 Iowa at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Celebrating senior day
Martin said he felt proud of the effort given by all the seniors and he thinks they have built a foundation for the future of Ohio State field hockey.
“They work hard, they’re committed, they love this team,” Martin said. “And I think it shows when they put their jerseys on, when they show up at practice, it means a lot to them.”
Ohio State recognized 10 seniors for their contributions to the program: Bongers, Humphrey, Tamburro, Lauren Carroll, Natalie Faust, Sophie Haramis, Morgan Kile, Kelsey Nolan, Caroline Rath and Carolina Vergoesen.
“We just always have been a close-knit, supportive and loving group of girls,” Humphrey said. “So for us to get that win for each other was great. And the two girls that scored were seniors, so it was a perfect senior day.”
