Buckeyes Fall to Old Dominion in Friday’s Season-Opener

Friday, August 28

Columbus, Ohio

4 p.m.

Ohio State

(0-1, 0-0)

Old Dominion

(1-0, 0-0)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Old Dominion	1	0	1	1	3
Ohio St.	0	0	1	1	2

Buckeyes Fall to Old Dominion in Friday’s Season-Opener

8/28/2026 6:05:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State field hockey team opened its 2026 season Friday against Old Dominion at Buckeye Varsity Field. The Buckeyes fell to the Monarchs, 3-2, in the contest.

How it Happened

Old Dominion (1-0) scored first, taking the lead two minutes into the game off a goal from Josie Painter on a breakaway.
The Buckeyes (0-1) went on to outshoot the Monarchs, 3-1, in the opening quarter, but Old Dominion kept the one-goal lead after 15 minutes of play.
Ohio State put two shots on goal in the second quarter in an effort to find the tying goal. Old Dominion goalkeeper Suus Broers held off the Buckeyes and sent the game to halftime with the Monarchs still ahead by one.
Nearly six minutes into the third quarter, Old Dominion doubled its lead with a goal from Lotte Haagmans off a penalty corner.
Carmela Maro put the Buckeyes on the board – and cut the Old Dominion lead back down to one – with just 48 seconds left to play in the third quarter. Emily Barker worked her way into the circle and, as she was about to hit the endline, sent a pass towards the middle. The pass was deflected by an Old Dominion defender before landing on the stick of Maro, who collected the ball in front of the cage and sent a shot into the net.
The Monarchs scored again with 9:16 on the clock in the fourth quarter but the two-goal advantage was short lived. Grace Dixon inserted a penalty corner at 51:25 and after a shot from Phillippa Jowett was saved, Dixon took the rebound and put it in the back of the net.
With five minutes to play in the game, Ohio State pulled goalkeeper Maddie Stevens for the extra field player but was not able to find the equalizer.

Buckeyes By the Numbers

Dixon's fourth-quarter goal is her first of her career. The goal also marks the junior's first career points.
Maro tallied her second career goal and now has scored the first goal in each of the Buckeyes' last two home-openers.
Ohio State recorded 15 shots in the game and eight penalty corners.

Up Next
The Buckeyes are back in action Sunday, Aug. 30 against Bellarmine. The Buckeyes and Knights meet at 1 p.m. at Buckeye Varsity Field.

#GoBucks