Sara C. Tobias / Chief Photographer / st939605@ohiou.edu

Ohio forward Marcy Dull moves the ball down the field in Ohio’s game against Ohio State at Pruitt Field. The Bobcats lost in double overtime.

Although coach Neil Macmillan will admit that his field hockey team’s 1-3 start has been disappointing, he still displayed confidence that his team could rebound in time for the Mid-American Conference schedule.

With the Bobcats’ 4-1 loss to Louisville on Saturday, the No. 20 team in the country has lost three straight contests since its season-opening win against Georgetown.

“It’s been very disappointing, and I speak for the whole team, not just myself,” Macmillan said. “We’re suffering a little bit. We can’t put the ball in the back of the net at the moment.”

Goalkeeper Jessie Martin, last season’s MAC Player of the Year, said she feels the team has learned from each of its losses and is looking to move forward with those lessons in mind.

“I think every game we’ve grown as a team,” she said. “We haven’t reached our potential yet, but I think we’re getting there. I think when it starts to matter, come MAC play, then we’ll be there.”

Macmillan cited a number of factors that contributed to Ohio’s loss to the No. 17-ranked Redbirds.

The Louisville attack proved to be too much for the Bobcat defense, outshooting Ohio 15-6 including five penalty attempts. He added that field communication was an issue, partially taking the blame for such problems.

“It was just one of those off days,” he said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t as competitive as we needed to be. They deserved to win it, too, because they were really moving us around.”

Still, Macmillan couldn’t pinpoint any particular areas that the Bobcats needed to address immediately. He said his team has been playing well and proved that it should be capable of competing.

“I don’t think we need to turn us around,” he said. “Look at the Ohio State game. Look at the James Madison game and the Georgetown game. A little break goes the other way, and we win those games.”

Ohio opened up the season with a 3-2 win over the Hoyas at home Aug. 30. A tough 1-0 loss to James Madison followed Aug. 31 before the Bobcat-Buckeye match-up took place.

In a double-overtime affair, Ohio State pulled off the victory when Jenn Sciulli struck a rebound off Aisling Coyle into the back of the Bobcat net to give Ohio State the 2-1 win.

A lack of success on the offensive end has been one of the factors in Ohio’s slow start, Macmillan said. The Bobcats have mustered just five goals in the first four games of the season.

“We aim to score three goals every game,” he said. “Had we done that — other than the Louisville game — we certainly would have won three of the games we’ve played this year.”

Martin also named team communication as an area of focus for Ohio in the upcoming games. Several players are manning new positions this season, and Martin said she thought some were still making adjustments.

“I think we just need get used to playing with each other,” she said. “I think once we get used to new players, new positions, it’ll work out.”