Central Michigan University Athletics
Women's Soccer Field Undergoes Face-Lift
7/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
July 26, 2001
MOUNT PLEASANT -- The Central Michigan University Soccer Field will don a new look when the 2001 women's soccer season kicks off its home schedule next September.
"We weren't satisfied with the condition of the soccer field we had in place," Athletics Director Herb Deromedi said. "It was in the best interest of both the athletes and the program that we addressed the issue. We would have liked to have started the renovations earlier but since we host the Special Olympics, we did not want to compromise our prior commitment to it.
"In the end, this will be a field that I believe the athletes and the women's soccer program will be able to have a great deal of pride in."
The top layers of the soccer field were removed and a layer of topsoil was brought in from the site of the new Theunissen Baseball Stadium. It will be used to level the soccer field by eliminating the crown. Only a slight grade remains for drainage. Once the topsoil is laid, a blend of red fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial and rye grasses will be sown and covered with a straw-mulch combination to provide shade.
"This will be a big improvement," said fourth-year head coach Mark Salisbury. "The new field is a major investment in our program. It's another step towards establishing us as one of the premier college programs in Michigan and maintaining the Chippewas as an elite program in the Mid-American Conference."
The student-athletes are looking forward to a new field as well.
"It's great that the soccer program is getting a brand new field to play on next fall," senior captain Kjersten Kuhlman (St. Louis, Mo.) commented. "It is something we have needed and that this team will benefit from for many seasons.
"With a level field, it will help us play better at home and that will bring out the fans as well. This investment is a big step in making us even more competitive."
While this is one of the larger undertakings in the field's short history, it's not the only one. The Chippewas started playing on the field in 1999, the program's second season. While it came with an underground irrigation system, a tile drainage system was added in the summer of 2000.
The current project was completed on July 13. The Chippewas hope to initiate the new field with their first home game of the 2001 season against conference rival Miami on Friday, Sept. 21.
