SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – After its four-game home stand, the Missouri State field hockey team will travel to Athens, Ohio, for a conference matchup against the Ohio University Bobcats on Friday, Oct. 7 at 4 p.m. The Bears will then travel to Kent, Ohio, where they will take on the Kent State Golden Flashes at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9.
 
Match Info: Missouri State at Ohio University • Missouri State at Kent State
Location: Pruitt Field – Athens, Ohio • Murphy-Mellis Field - Kent, Ohio
Date: Friday, Oct. 7 • Sunday, Oct. 9
Time: 4 p.m. • 11 a.m.
Follow: Live Stats | Facebook | Twitter
 
Series History
Ohio
Ohio holds a 23-10-1 series record over the Bears. The Bears won the last meeting between the two teams, breaking an eight-game losing streak on Oct. 9, 2015. Ohio won the previous eight matches with the largest margin of victory being 5-1 on Oct. 13, 2012.
 
Kent State
Kent State leads the series 24-5-1. Missouri State won the last meeting between the two teams 1-0 on Oct. 11, 2015. Kent State had won the previous three matches. 

Last Meeting
Ohio
In last meeting between the two teams, Missouri State earned its first 2015 Mid-American Conference victory in a 2-0 shutout over the Bobcats. The win for the Bears was the first since 2009 and the second in the past 19 meetings. Sydney Richeliu scored Missouri State's goals in the 25^th and 53^rd minutes to give the bears a 2-0 lead. Feli Heinzel recorded three saves in the match.
 
Kent State
In the last meeting between the Golden Flashes and the Bears, Missouri State' Charlie Redhead scored early in the eigth minute and held Kent State scoreless for the remainder of the match. Then-freshman Feli Heinzel earned her third shutout of the 2015 season as well as her fourth win. 

Bear Bites

• Entering Friday's match with a 1-7 overall record, the Bears are 0-1 in MAC play after a close 1-0 loss to MAC preseason champion Miami (Ohio).
• Five Bears – Daelynn De Mello, Bianca Mills, Renee Rhoads, Andrea Soler Codina and Liz Young – have netted goals this season. Young and Mills lead the Missouri State offense with three goals, two assists and eight points each.
• Sophomore Feli Heinzel leads the Missouri State goalkeepers with 37 saves and 428 minutes in the cage. Heinzel (1-5) recorded a season-high 10 saves against UC Davis (9/24/16). Senior goalkeeper Megan Drew racked up a season-high 11 saves in her first start of the season against the Pacific Tigers. Drew's 11 saves were the most saves recorded by any Missouri State goalkeeper since her 12-save performance against Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 24, 2014. The senior from San Diego now has 16 saves on the season.
• In her first season at the helm for the Bears, head coach Catherine Ostoich is in search of her first MAC victory.

 
A Look At The Competition – Ohio
Ohio enters Friday's affair 4-6 overall and 1-0 in Mid-American Conference play. The Bobcats have played a few Missouri State opponents including Saint Francis, Indiana and UC Davis. Ohio fell to both Indiana (3-2 OT) and UC Davis (3-0) but bested Saint Francis 4-2 in its opening weekend.

Kendall Ballard leads the Bobcats with seven goals and 17 points. The sophomore has taken 33 shots, bringing her shot percentage to .212 with a .576 shot on goal percentage. Two Bobcats, Maria Russell and Brittany Keen, follow Ballard with five goals, two assists and 12 points each. Ohio has netted 23 goals this season.

Defensively, senior goalkeeper Lina Trucco (2-6) has seen 508 minutes on the pitch, recording 37 saves while carrying a .617 save percentage. Tatyana Nelson and Megan Silveira have each recorded one defensive save on the season. Ohio has allowed 31 goals.

Head coach Neil Macmillan is in his 12^th year leading the Bobcats.

Kent State
Kent State enters Sunday's match 7-5 overall and 3-0 in MAC play. The Golden Flashes have recorded wins against Michigan State, Villanova, University of California and Pacific. Kent State's conference wins come from Ball State, Central Michigan and Longwood. 

Alison Harmatz leads the Golden Flashes with nine goals and has recorded 51 shots this season for a .176 shooting percentage. She also leads the team with 18 points while teammate Silvia Figa Malgosa follows closely with 13 points. 

Kent State's lone goalkeeper, Andrea Rinehart (7-5), has put in a total of 855 minutes in the cage this season, recording 45 saves while allowing 24 goals this season. The senior has two shutouts on the season. 

The Golden Flashes are led by Kathleen Wiler, who is in her 10th season at Kent State. 
 
Final Details
Friday's contest is slated for 4 p.m. (CST) at Pruitt Field in Athens, Ohio. The Bears will travel to Kent, Ohio, on Oct. 9th to take on Kent State at 11 a.m. Live stats will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Live updates will be available via Facebook (Missouri State Field Hockey) and Twitter (MSUBearsFHockey).