Ohio Dominican Women's Soccer demonstrate heart in narrow 3-2 defeat
The Black & Yellow nearly complete an impressive comeback after falling down 2-0 early.
The Ohio Dominican women’s soccer program closed out an eventful first week of action on Saturday morning when it welcomed Tusculum to Panther Stadium. The Panthers looked to build off a 1-1 draw on Thursday against Roberts Wesleyan but ultimately fell by a 3-2 scoreline to the Pioneers.
Don’t be fooled by the scoreline—ODU very easily could have earned a draw (more on that in a moment).
The Panthers came out firing on all cylinders in the opening moments of the match. Freshman Ashley Yontz served as the spark plug in the middle of the park, frequently combining with sophomore Madeline Hartke to generate two early chances.
Tusculum struck in the 11th minute against the run of play to take a 1-0 lead and doubled the advantage in the 23rd minute, putting the Panthers on the ropes early.
In typical ODU fashion under head coach Tony Daniels, the Black & Yellow came off the ropes swinging as they fought to claw their way back into the contest.
Senior Meghan Coakley appeared to start the comeback in the 57th minute with a brilliant headed goal from a corner kick. However, a questionable decision from center official Michelle McCoy—who was positioned about 15 yards behind the play—blew the goal dead, ruling that the Panthers had obstructed goalkeeper Noemie Tartrou from having a fair chance at the save.
Below is the moment in question.
Looking at this photo, it appears to be a legal play in many aspects of the game. ODU’s Randi Morgan isn’t inducing contact, and the player behind Tartrou is her own defender. The assistant referee (not pictured) is also in a great position to make the call, but he didn’t raise his flag—indicating this was a fair goal and that no advantage was gained or lost by either side.
The fact that McCoy made the call from so far behind the play is simply poor officiating. She needs to defer to her AR, who had a better angle on the proceedings.
McCoy has had struggles at Panther Stadium before. She served as the center official for a controversial matchup against Kentucky Wesleyan in 2024, in which she awarded a questionable red card and a penalty kick to the Purple Panthers. That decision allowed the visitors to return to Owensboro with a victory and made ODU’s climb into the G-MAC Championship Tournament much more difficult.
Seven minutes after Coakley’s goal was waved off, Mallory Smucker was introduced into the game. Coming off the bench, the junior immediately jumped into action, intercepting a ball and creating a one-on-one opportunity with the Pioneer goalkeeper. She converted the chance and got the Panthers rolling with their first goal of the evening.
Coakley finally found the scoresheet in the 86th minute, giving the Panthers life. Despite an ODU onslaught, Tusculum’s defense remained steadfast and carried the visitors to victory.
Up next
ODU now hits the road for a Wednesday clash against the University of Illinois-Springfield, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The Panthers have never lost to the Prairie Stars, holding a 1-0-1 record in the all-time series.