Central Michigan University Athletics
Single Game On Tap For Soccer
9/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Sept. 2, 2003
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- The Central Michigan University women's soccer team (0-1-1 overall) has only one game slated this week as it plays the third game of a five-game road swing.
On the docket this weekend is a road match with the Cincinnati Bearcats. The two rivals are slated to lock horns on Friday, September 5, at 6 p.m.
"Playing Cincinnati is going to be a challenge for our team," said sixth-year head coach Mark Salisbury. "It's going to be a physical, fast-paced match. It will be a game that will really push our players to play well."
The Chippewas will have a hefty task when they look across the field and see the Bearcats this weekend. Cincinnati is among the best teams in the Great Lakes region. SoccerBuzz.com ranked the Bearcats third in the region in 2002 and are currently eighth in the region in 2003. As well as being one of the best in the region, Cincinnati was picked to win the Conference USA title in the preseason coaches poll. Last year's squad went 17-4-3 and made its second straight NCAA College Cup appearance.
The Bearcats enter this week 1-0 for the season. They grabbed a season-opening victory over fellow MAC rival Toledo in overtime, 2-1, and have rain date with crosstown rival Xavier scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Tasha Wagner highlights the returnees from the 2002 campaign. The Bearcat midfielder was a 2003 preseason all-conference pick after leading the team in assists (10) last year. She was also second on the team with 18 points.
This is the first meeting between the Chippewas and Bearcats. CMU is 0-1 when squaring off against C-USA opponents. The lone C-USA opponent to battle the Chippewas was Marquette in 2001. The Golden Eagles topped the Chippewas, 1-0.
The Chippewas enter the contest owning an 0-1-1 mark after opening the season at Northern Arizona's Mountain Classic. CMU dropped the opening match to California-Riverside, 1-0, and tied with Idaho, 1-1.
"It was a great weekend for us," Salisbury said. "We wanted to develop our younger players and develop our team. We wanted to challenge the players in a road atmosphere and get them used to the pressures of game situations.
"Our team improved over the two games and I am happy with the progress we made."
Last Week -
California-Riverside 1, CMU 0
CMU fell to California Riverside, 1-0, in the season-opening match at the NAU Mountain Classic on Friday, August 29.
Highlander midfielder Kristi Tanaka launched a direct kick in the closing minutes of the first half, slipping it past CMU netminder Kari Alexander (Midland/Sr.) for the game's lone tally. All seven of UCR shots came in the first half, three of which landed on net.
Alexander got the start between the pipes but freshman Anne Decker (Troy/Fr.) stepped in the second half for her first taste of college soccer. Alexander saw three shots and made two saves while Decker was uncontested in net. Alexander took the loss.
The Chippewas fired five shots for the evening, two of which landed on net. Jill Adams (St. Louis, Mo./Sr.) led CMU with two shots.
CMU 1, Idaho 1
The Chippewas and Idaho settled for a 1-1 tie in the second game of the NAU Mountain Classic on Sunday, August 31.
Chippewa forward Alison Heydorn (Ancaster, Ontario/Fr.) knotted the game at one apiece at the 88-minute mark when she found the back of the net off of a cornerkick by fellow classmate Jacquie Lacek (Rochester, N.Y.).
Vandal goalkeeper Kim Carey had to be on her toes to make eight saves for the game, two of them in the second overtime. Kari Alexander started the match and played the first half, making one save. Anne Decker came in at the half and played the remainder of the minutes. She made two saves in 65 minutes of work.
Idaho got on the board first. In the 70th minute of play, Emily Nelson beat Chippewa netminder Decker, knocking in a cross from Sarah April.
The Maroon and Gold launched 16 shots on the afternoon, eight of which landed on net. Stacy Downing (Carmel, Ind./So.) had a team-high four shots while Lacek was right behind her with three.
A "Fresh" Start - Freshman Alison Heydorn scored this season's first goal. However, a freshman has scored the season's first goal in four of the program's six seasons. Robin Galvin owns the distinguished honor of scoring the programs first-ever goal in 1998. The newcomer tallied the score versus Robert Morris on September 5, 1998. Other diaper dandies to christen the season were: Emilie VilleMonte (versus Loyola-Chicago in 1999); Rachel Snyder (versus Oakland in 2002); and most recently, Heydorn (versus Idaho in 2003).
Approaching A Milestone - Kari Alexander made three saves last weekend, upping her career total in 191. She needs nine more saves to break the 200-save mark and is on the verge of breaking the all-time saves record. Alexander needs 26 saves to pass Beth Quiney's mark (216).
Working Overtime - Playing overtime versus Idaho last weekend was nothing new for the Chippewas. Last season, CMU saw five of its games go into overtime. All of them ended in a tie. The Maroon and Gold have played in 17 overtime games in the program's six years. CMU is 5-4-8 overall when it plays in extra periods.
Helping Out A Classmate - While Freshman Alison Heydorn tallied her first career goal, she got help from fellow classmate Jacquie Lacek. Lacek got an assist on Heydorn's goal as Heydorn knocked in Lacek's cornerkick at the 88-minute mark of the Idaho match.
Jump Right In - Five freshmen made their first career starts in the season-opening tournament last weekend. Starting their first collegiate matches were: Amber Delvecchio (Birmingham); Julie Dziewicki (Troy); Alison Heydorn; Jacquie Lacek; and Laura Roberts (London, Ontario).
Splittin' Time - Netminders Kari Alexander and Anne Decker have split the time between in the pipes in the season's first two games. Alexander made both starts and has played 90 minutes between the two games. She has made three saves and allowed one goal. Decker has come in the second half of both games and has played 110 minutes. The freshman has made two saves and allowed one goal.
Up Next - Mid-American Conference play begins next weekend as the Chippewas wrap up their five-game road trip. CMU will open conference action at Bowling Green on September 12 and complete the weekend's docket at Toledo on September 14.
