In the final regular season game of the year, Nikki Gnozzio and Lauren Stahlhuth found themselves in an unusual situation.After 19 games of defending the goal, the pair attacked the Central Michigan defense, and each picked up the first goal of their careers as No. 15 Ohio cruised past the Chippewas 3-0 Friday.
Both players had taken three shots on goal entering the weekend.
“Nikki is a very athletic player and gives us some speed in the backfield,” Ohio coach Neil Macmillan said. “Lauren’s on the outside and has done a pretty decent job all year of getting in the right positions for moving the ball around when we need it.”
The goals resulted from penalty-corner opportunities, an area where Ohio has excelled this season. Going into the weekend, the Bobcats (15-4, 9-1 MAC) were fifth in the country in penalty corners, averaging 9.24 per game.
“With Lauren, it was a designed play,” Macmillan said, noting his surprise that Gnozzio, who begins each Bobcat penalty-corner play, hadn’t scored before. “She positioned herself absolutely correctly, and Torrie (Albini) hit it well. It was really a thing of beauty.”
“It was certainly exciting to see people who don’t usually end up on the scoreboard getting a goal,” he added. Albini, Ohio’s offensive leader for most of the season, didn’t find the back of the cage against Central Michigan (5-13, 4-6 MAC), but contributed two assists. For the season, Albini has 16 scores, two higher than her team-leading total last season. She also leads the team with 11 assists.
Albini’s prowess as a scorer allows her to give her teammates opportunities, Macmillan said.
“We set up plays where opponents are going to feel that Torrie is the one who’s going to take the shot,” he said. “Lauren’s goal was exactly that. Everyone thinks she’s going to shoot, and she ends up sending a great pass to her teammate.”
Marcy Dull scored the other Bobcat goal, capitalizing on a fast break in the 45th minute. She finished the regular season with nine goals.
The Ohio defense secured its seventh shutout of the season. Goalkeeper Jessie Martin notched one save, and the defense allowed only two shots on goal.
A team mentality helped the Bobcats achieve their defensive success in the regular season, Macmillan said.
“We try to play different styles of defense in different games,” he said. “The one thing I joke with the team about is my favorite band is Tenacious D because that’s what I want them to play.”
The 15 wins the Bobcats accumulated this season ranks third all-time for the program, and the nine conference wins is the team’s most since 2001, when it won the MAC Championship. As a coach, however, Macmillan said he always thinks of the games his team didn’t win.
“This team has pretty much fulfilled their potential in the regular season,” he said. “As a coach, I’m never satisfied, and it’d be wrong if I was. I looked at all the missed opportunities in the games that we lost as much as I look at the games that we won.”
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