QUICK HITS
- Junior Elena Gutlove scored her team-leading second goal of the season
- Cleveland State suffered its first setback of the season with the loss
- Cleveland State had five shots in the second period
- Bianca Sarti assisted on the goal by Elena Gutlove
MATCH RECAP
ATHENS, Ohio -- Junior Elena Gutlove scored her second goal of the season, but Ohio scored in the final minute of the second overtime to hand Cleveland State a 2-1 loss on Friday on Chessa Field.
The Vikings appeared to be headed for a draw, but Alivia Milesky scored off a feed from Abby Townsend with 40 seconds to play in the second overtime.
"First, huge congratulations and lots of respect for a tough Ohio team," said CSU head coach Dallas Boyer. "They were all over us for the first half and probably caused us more problems than anyone has for long stretches this season. But credit to our group, they took coaching points a bit more to heart at halftime and made some adjustments and more than turned the tide for the second half and into the first overtime period."
Cleveland State, which dropped to 1-1-1 on the season, fell behind midway through the first but found its offense in the second period.
Gutlove took a pass from Bianca Sarti and found the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1 at the 53:53 mark of the second period.
Cleveland State continued to press the attack in the second period and Essence Canady and McKenna Donahue each had quality scoring opportunities.
"Probably the most encouraging part, especially in the second half, was we got several more of the attacking players involved and we were creating sustained pressure from a variety of combinations," Boyer added. "If that group can continue to make strides like they did from last weekend to today, they'll soon be a real handful. That group of Essence, Bianca, McKenna, Ja'Maya, Lizzie and Aubrey worked really well once we got them going."
Neither team was able to mount any offense in the first overtime, but Ohio turned up its attack in the second extra period.
The Bobcats, who improved to 3-0-0 on the season, fired five shots in the second overtime including the game-winning goal from Milesky.
Stevie Holbrook made five saves in net for the Vikings, while Sam Wexell earned the win for Ohio while making three saves.
"Incredibly proud of the group's effort once again," Boyer said. "At this point I'm confident that we are going to get an awesome effort and work rate from a group that loves to compete together. That's exciting and a great base to work with as we keep getting better."
Cleveland State returns to action on Sunday (Sept. 1) when it visits Miami (Ohio) at 1 p.m.
