Central Michigan University Athletics
Soccer Winning Streak Snapped By Ohio, 2-1
9/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT - Two costly mistakes by the Central Michigan University soccer team opened the door for Ohio University to post a 2-1 victory over the Chippewas in the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools this afternoon. CMU's seven-match winning streak was snapped as it suffered its first defeat this season, falling to 7-1-0 and 0-1-0 in the MAC.
"Obviously, we're disappointed with the result today," CMU head coach Tony DiTucci said. "We certainly appreciated the success we had to start the season, but the bottom line was we still had no points in conference play. This was our first opportunity in the MAC, and we didn't come up with a victory. This is a wake-up call for us, and we need to respond when we get our next opportunity against Akron on Sunday."
Jasmine Merith and Lindsey Price scored to bring Ohio back from an early 1-0 deficit. CMU got on the board first in the 21st minute, when Alison Heydorn netted her second of the year on a beautiful feed from Stephanie Martin, who collected a throw-in from Sarah Burns and made a couple of cut-back moves before threading a pass to a wide open Heydorn in front of the Ohio net. Heydorn gathered the ball and put a shot from 12 yards out into the left corner of the net.
Merith's equalizer for the Bobcats came nine minutes later after a turnover by senior Amber Delvecchio. When Delvecchio couldn't clear a ball from just outside the CMU penalty box, Merith pounced on the loose ball and drilled a shot from the top of the box that cleared the hands of a leaping Decker and dipped down into the goal. That goal closed the scoring in the first half, as the teams hit the break tied at 1-1.
Price capitalized on an error by senior goalkeeper Anne Decker to give Ohio the winning tally ten minutes into the second half. OU's Erika Schmitt drilled a free ball from just inside midfield that took a skidding bounce at Decker, who couldn't hold onto it. Price blasted the ball into the back of the net before Decker could recover.
"Soccer is such a psychological game, and when you have some of the mistakes we had today, it makes it difficult to overcome that," DiTucci said. "It was unfortunate to have two breakdowns like that occur in the same match."
The match was very physical, with both teams committing double-digit fouls. Ohio had 14 infractions to CMU's 12. The Chippewas outshot the Bobcats, 11-7, but OU had a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. Ohio's Jess MacLean picked up the win, making one save while playing the second half in relief of teammate Dominique Wright. Decker made three saves for CMU, but took the loss.
"We have to forget about this loss and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose," DiTucci said.
CMU will try to get back on the winning track in Sunday, when it hosts the University of Akron. The match with the Zips kicks off at 1 p.m. at the CMU Soccer Complex.
