The Ohio State field hockey team huddles together during the Ohio State-Wake Forest game Sept. 18. Wake Forest won 1-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
No. 21 Ohio State’s five-game win streak came to an end, losing to No. 3 Northwestern 2-1 on an overtime goal from Wildcats senior midfielder Ana Medina Garcia at Buckeye Varsity Field Sunday.
The Buckeyes (8-6, 2-4 Big Ten) field hockey team split the weekend against top-five teams after dropping the game to the Wildcats (12-3, 3-3 Big Ten).
The game-winning goal by Garcia was unassisted and her sixth goal of the season to give her 15 points.
Despite the loss, head coach Jarred Martin said he is happy with how the Buckeyes performed over the weekend.
“This weekend we saw a lot of great things from the team,” Martin said. “I think we’re showing that competitive fire, and the connections that we’re making on the field are giving us opportunities to win a game.”
The game was a scoreless, defensive battle until early in the fourth quarter when Wildcats fifth-year forward Bente Baekers converted on a penalty corner, but junior midfielder Megan McKenna answered to tie the game up and send it to overtime.
McKenna gave the defense credit for holding the high-powered offense of the Wildcats scoreless for so long.
“We really focused on defense,” McKenna said. “Our reaction to turnover was really good. We just tried to be all over the ball.”
The first quarter was an even back-and-forth fight, which neither team came out of with a goal. The Buckeyes got three shots off and two corners, and the Wildcats took two shots from two corners.
The Buckeyes got a big chance in the second quarter when they were awarded a penalty stroke senior forward Sarah Charley took. Wildcats junior goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz made a diving save to keep the game scoreless.
Ohio State got six penalty corners in a row in the third quarter, but the Wildcats defense stepped up and didn’t allow any goal. The Buckeyes took seven shots from the corners, five of which were saved, and two were blocked.
The Wildcats had five corners of their own in the third quarter but couldn’t convert due to three blocks by the Buckeye defense and a save by junior goalkeeper Abby Danson.
“Our defensive penalty corner unit was a beast today,” McKenna said. “They did not let one thing in. On offense, we were just focusing on trying to get around their players, but they were strong in there, too. It was a good battle.”
Baekers scored the first goal of the game in the fourth quarter, assisted by fifth-year back Kayla Blas. Baekers is the leading point scorer in the country, and it was her 20th goal of the season.
McKenna tied the game up with 7:49 left in the game, assisted by sophomore midfielder Claudia Thomas. It was McKenna’s second goal of the season.
“I saw open space, open green, and I just took it,” McKenna said. “It was amazing.”
Garcia’s goal that won the game came 3:45 into overtime, after she worked her way around a Buckeye defender on the left side.
Martin said the Buckeyes are looking forward to Indiana and trying to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, which begins Nov. 3 at Buckeye Varsity Field.
“We have some work to do,” Martin said. “First things first, we have to make sure we play IU next weekend, Indiana. That’s going to be a really important game just for us to make the Big Ten Tournament. It’s wild to think the conference is so competitive. We have to make sure we’re here to give us a chance.”
The Buckeyes will head to Bloomington, Indiana, Friday to face the Hoosiers at 3 p.m.
