After a tough 3-1 loss to Kent State Saturday, Miami University's women's field hockey team looked to pull out a victory Sunday against 11th ranked Ohio University. However, the RedHawks found themselves down 2-0 within the first 12 minutes of the game, and never recovered, falling 3-1.

With the two losses this weekend, Miami fell to 1-2 in Mid-American Conference play.

After the quick start by the Bobcats and the 'Hawks looking discouraged, Miami Head Coach Jill Reeve decided to give her team a wake up call by making an unexpected goalie switch.

Although starting goalie Megan Stengel had not even played 15 minutes, Reeve replaced her with sophomore Kelsey Dean.

The switch slowed the Bobcat scoring, as Dean gave up just one more goal over the last 55 minutes of the game, while making seven saves.

Dean however, had not expected to get any in-game action Sunday.

"I was definitely surprised, I think our first couple minutes were a rough couple minutes, so we just needed a little self-esteem booster and I think I was ready to go in," she said.

While Reeve was confident in Dean and proud of the way she played, Reeve made it clear that Stengel is still the starter.

"I think Kelsey, our second goalkeeper right now, has been playing really well and I think she deserved a chance to go in," Reeve said. "I'm really glad she played really well, I was very proud of her effort. It was a good show."

Despite being down two early, Miami rallied with the help of Dean, responding with good offensive pressure, resulting in eight first half penalty corner opportunities, while not giving Ohio any penalty corners.

Senior Alyssa Nye was finally able to take advantage of one of Miami's many corner opportunities in the 21st minute, driving the ball off the goalkeeper's pads and into the net.

The excitement for the half was not yet over, as Miami's last corner of the half came with only seven seconds left on the clock. The 'Hawks were able to pound home what looked to be their second, and game-tying goal, just before time expired, but the goal would eventually be disallowed by the referees.

Despite the heartbreaking call, the RedHawks had the momentum going into the second half.

Miami came out with concentrated offensive pressure and created its first corner opportunity of the half after just a few minutes.

During the corner, a Miami forward and the Ohio goalkeeper struggled to gain possession of a loose ball in front of the net after the initial drive. The referee gave possession to Ohio, which brought disgust from the fans. The protest became so intense that the referee stopped the game to get the crowd of just more than 100 people under control.

Reeve commented about the tight officiating.

"I had a certain sense about the game that was just a bit off, and I'm hoping that we'll get, I don't know, changes in the wind," Reeve said.

The Bobcats sealed the victory with a third goal with just five minutes remaining in the game.

Although the loss was disappointing for the whole Miami team, Reeve was happy with the way her team played and knew that despite the score, her team could have easily been the winner.

"Well I think the score was really disappointing, but I feel we outplayed Ohio 60 out of the 70 minutes," she said. "When they had their opportunities they tucked it in and we certainly had our chances at the game"

The RedHawks' next game will be at Central Michigan Friday, where they will try to make their way back to .500 in MAC play.

"I'm looking forward to this weekend because it helps our team to see all the problems we're having," said Miami senior Laura Seidel. "We'll look at video and prepare for Central Michigan. Today we had our opportunities, we just need to execute and I think that in our next game we'll definitely be able to fix that and we'll be ready."