Buckeyes Rally To Edge Ohio, 3-2 – Ohio State Buckeyes

Sunday, September 20

Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State

(5-2)

Ohio

(3-4)

Team	1	2	Final F
Ohio	2	0	2
Ohio State	1	2	3

Buckeyes Rally To Edge Ohio, 3-2 – Ohio State Buckeyes

9/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Sept. 20, 2015

Final Stats

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Peanut Johnson provided the offense, Liz Tamburro took care of the defense with a late stop and the result was the Ohio State field hockey team’s fourth consecutive victory. The Buckeyes (5-2) came from behind with two goals in the second half to top Ohio, 3-2, in front of a season-high crowd on Sunday at Buckeye Varsity Field.

Johnson, last week’s Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, had a hand in all three Ohio State goals, scoring twice and assisting on the third. In the last three games, she had 10 points (four goals, two assists). Her unassisted tally in the 64th minute, keyed by her quickness to evade the entire Bobcat defense, dribble into the circle and fire a shot in from five yards out, proved to be the game-winner.

Ohio opened the scoring in the seventh minute of the first half, getting a goal off a penalty corner from Clarissa Leickly with assists from Kristen Buchanan and Adele Sammons. The score remained 1-0 for much of the remainder of the first half, until Johnson once again created her own offense, dribbling into the circle and connecting on a backhanded shot that went to the upper right hand corner of the cage past Bobcat goalie Lina Trucco.

Ohio would respond in the 29th minute when Maria Russell tipped in a shot by Kendall Ballard off a penalty corner. The Bobcats would take that lead into halftime, as they outshot Ohio State 10-4 in the opening stanza.

The offensive tables would be turned in the final 35 minutes as the Buckeyes turned up the pressure, outshooting Ohio 6-1, with the Bobcats lone shot coming on the final possession of regulation. Senior Emma Royce fired a shot into the goal on a penalty corner at the 39:30 mark of regulation, tying the score at 2-2. For Royce, she finished the weekend with a goal and two assists in a pair of wins. Caroline Rath, the hero of Friday’s win over Michigan State, was also credited with an assist on the play.

Tied 2-2 with under 10 minutes remaining, Johnson single-handily made sure the game didn’t get to overtime, taking control of the ball near midfield and weaving her way towards the goal before eventually beating Trucco to the lower right of the cage.

The Bobcats, who played down two players for portions of the second half because of yellow cards, had one final attempt to tie the game on a penalty corner as time expired in the second half. Ballard took the shot, but a diving Tamburro swatted the ball away as time expired. The sophomore made five saves, four in the first half, and finished with 14 stops on the weekend.

After giving up 10 shots in the first half, Ohio State’s defense settled in and allowed just one in the second half. Through seven games, opponents are averaging just 9.6 shots and 1.57 goals per contest. Johnson now leads the team with 15 points on six goals and three assists. The four-straight wins in the most since Ohio State rattled off six straight from Sept. 12 through Sept. 26 in 2012.

Ohio State is back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 23 when it travels to Oxford to face another in-state foe, Miami University. Game time is slated for 5 p.m.