UBC > OSU.
May 24, 2015 by Liz Gates and Katie Raynolds in News with 0 comments
British Columbia ended reigning champion Ohio State Fever’s season convincingly, hitting their stride and ending the game 15-8.
Ohio State came out strong, going up 3-1 before they let UBC roll down the field and rack up five points. UBC took half 8-5, and outscored Fever in the second half 7-3. Both teams had some misfires: each favored shoving it up the line or hucking aggressively, creating some long, sloppy points.
Each team worked hard on defense and contested every possession. Typically weak in the first few points of their games, Ohio State was excited to make prequarters and it showed. However, they slowed down quickly. There always seemed to be one tired or less experienced defender allowing UBC to make easy passes up the field. OSU threw their 3-3-1 zone that has worked so well in the past, but it didn’t help. Offensively OSU looked tired, clogging the lanes and miscommunicating. However, their goal was to make prequarters and they had already succeeded.
UBC looked out of depth for the first few points, understandably so with Mira Donaldson out due to a major shoulder injury. But UBC did not let the unhappy reality determine their fate. After the first few points they got back to their game and showed there are 23 other players that can move the disc. Victoria McCann stepped up and got four assists and a goal. Terynn Chan finished with three goals, two assists, and a block. Their four man cup confused Fever and forced plenty of turns, and they quickly figured out how they needed to play to win.
When asked what got them back in the game after starting out on the wrong foot, coach Tasia Balding simply said, “A couple of good D blocks got us motivated and got us to the page we needed to be on.”
This win propels UBC to a quarters game against Virginia, who they last saw at Northwest Challenge when Hydra was missing their star player, Alika Johnston. Now that the tables are turned, and at an even more important tournament, it will be interesting to see if British Columbia can repeat their win. Both teams are fast, and UBC and Hydra will have to devise a strategy to combat each other’s speed. While UBC could rely on their quickness in the OSU game, they will have to do something different tomorrow to move on.
