Joel Hawksley / For The Post / jh295407@ohiou.edu

Ohio sophomore Katherine Ballard fights a Kent State player for the ball during the Bobcats’ 3-0 loss to the Golden Flashes on Friday at Pruitt Field. The team redeemed itself with a 3-1 win over Missouri State on Saturday to snap its two-game losing skid.

After a potentially demoralizing 3-0 loss to Kent State on Friday, coach Neil Macmillan trusted his players to rebound less than 24 hours later against Missouri State.

The strategy paid off.

In the second game of the weekend’s homestand, Ohio posted several offensive season highs on their way to a 3-1 win.

“I really let the kids take care of it,” Macmillan said. “They made the difference on the field (Saturday).”

Junior Katelyn Shelley sparked the offense and said the players understood the importance of coming back from the Kent State loss.

“We just really needed to fire everybody up,” she said. “We needed to come together because (Friday) was tough. So we brought it in before the game and got everybody on the same page.”

Shelley, who entered the Missouri State game with just one goal on the season, jump-started the team on Saturday. Two minutes into the game, she scored a goal from the end line to give her team an early advantage.

Macmillan said the Bobcats responded with resolve after Shelley’s quick score.

“That settled us down and set the tone,” he said.

Shelley scored again just before halftime, deflecting a cross shot from Marcy Dull for the first multi-goal game of her college career. Rachelle Coetzee increased her team-leading goal total to eight, scoring on an assist from Nikki Gnozzio during a penalty corner opportunity.

It was a highlight day for the offense, which posted season-high marks in shots (31), shots on goal (16) and penalty corners (12). After an ugly offensive day for both sides on Friday, the outburst was a welcoming sign.

“We could have had 10 (goals Saturday),” Macmillan said. “It’s exciting for me that we’re creating these opportunities.”

A pivotal turn in momentum is what spelled doom for the Bobcats on Friday. Dull appeared to break a 0-0 tie as the second half began, but the official took it away. Kent State responded with two goals within one minute of each other, the first from Debbie Miller and the second by Nicole Leach.

Nuts and bolts

Estienne Coetzee, the team’s second-leading scorer with three goals, did not see time in either of the weekend’s games. Macmillan said on Friday that she was out with an injury but declined to elaborate with any specifics.

Freshman goalkeeper Jen McGill saw time in her third game of the season Saturday, but allowed one goal.