Central Michigan University Athletics
Two Road Tests For Soccer This Weekend
9/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
MOUNT PLEASANT - With Mid-American Conference action in full swing, the Central Michigan University women’s soccer team hits the road for the first of two straight weekends of MAC matches on its opponents’ home fields. CMU (8-1-0, 1-1-0 MAC), which was handed its first loss of the year last Friday against Ohio, will face Kent State (4-5-1, 1-1-0 MAC) and Buffalo (3-6-0, 0-2-0) this weekend.
“It’s important that we come out with the right combination of energy and focus for these two matches this weekend,” CMU head coach Tony DiTucci said. “Playing on the road is always a challenge, and we’re facing two quality teams in Kent State and Buffalo. We need to go out and continue to incorporate the things we worked on in training this week in order to be successful.”
CMU salvaged a split on the opening weekend of MAC action with a 1-0 win over Akron after the 2-1 loss to Ohio. With three points, CMU sits tied for fifth place in the conference, trailing the four teams - Ball State, Bowling Green, Ohio and Toledo - who won twice last weekend.
The Chippewas managed just two goals in their two matches last weekend, and one of those came via a penalty kick. It was the first time this season that CMU was held to a single goal in back-to-back matches, something that happened an astonishing 14 times a year ago. CMU went its last 11 matches in 2005 without scoring more than once in the contest.
“I’m not concerned about our offense,” DiTucci said. “We did a good job creating chances in both matches over the weekend. We just need to tweak a few little things, and get sharper with our finishing.”
One tweak may involve trying to limit the number of offsides fouls CMU has committed this season. Through nine matches, CMU has been offsides 42 times, including 13 times against Canisius and 12 times against IPFW.
“It’s been something different every time that’s caused the offsides calls,” DiTucci said. “I love that we have an attacking mentality, and we’re always looking to go forward. In order to create good scoring opportunities, you have to take some chances, and that can lead to offsides calls.”
Goals may be hard to come by again this weekend, thanks to the two opponents CMU will face. Alicia Fernandez will be in net for Kent State on Friday. She shut out the Chippewas in Kent’s MAC Tournament semifinal win last season. At Buffalo on Sunday, CMU will play on a turf, not grass, field for the first and only time this season.
“These two matches will pose unique challenges,” DiTucci said.
Friday’s contest with Kent State will kick off in Kent, Ohio at 4 p.m. Sunday’s matinee match in Buffalo is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
Chippewa Soccer News and Notes
The Buzz About CMU: CMU dropped back to the No. 9 spot in the latest regional rankings by Soccer Buzz. This is the fifth straight week that CMU has appeared in the Great Lakes rankings. There are 55 teams in the Great Lakes region, and the rankings are updated each Monday night during the season. They can be accessed online at www.soccerbuzz.com/2006rankings/rankings2006.htm.
Leading the Way: CMU has several players who rank among the best in the Mid-American Conference in various statistical categories. Senior Jacquie Lacek leads all players in points scored (13) and is tied for the top spot in goals (five), while sophomore Sarah Burns is tied for the lead in assists (four). Lacek and freshman Molly Gerst are both tied for third in assists, with a large group of players who all have three helpers this season. Senior Anne Decker leads all goalkeepers in wins (eight) and is third in both goals-against average (1.00) and save percentage (.812).
Minute Maid: Senior goalkeeper Anne Decker surpassed the 6,000-minute mark in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Akron. Decker has now played 6010:08 of soccer between the pipes for the Chippewas, and she is just the fourth keeper in MAC history to surpass that plateau. Only one goalkeeper, Bowling Green’s Erika Flanders (1999-2002), has played more than 6,500 minutes, with a career total of 7084:22 minutes played. Decker will move into third place on the minutes played list this weekend, passing Ball State’s Megan Swafford (6060:25, 2000-2003) in that category.
Record Watch: Senior forward Jacquie Lacek’s goal in Sunday’s win over Akron moved her to within one tally of second place on the career list and four points shy of the top spot in that category in CMU soccer history. Lacek now has 21 goals (third, three shy of Allison Campbell’s 24), 15 assists (tied with Sabrina Borgquist for first), and 57 points (four away from Campbell’s 61) in her career. Sophomore Sarah Burns’ four assists this season leave her one helper shy of a tie for fourth on the single-season assist list. Senior Alison Heydorn is tied for fourth on the career assists list with 11, and her she needs one more point to move into the top five on the career scoring list.
Freshening Up the Offense: Three freshmen have contributed to CMU’s offensive production so far this season, as newcomers Stephanie Martin, Molly Gerst and Amanda Waugh have all had an impact on the field. Martin has three goals and two assists for eight points, Gerst has two goals and three assists for seven points, and Waugh has a pair of tallies for four points. Combined, they have contributed seven goals, five assists, and 19 points through nine matches. Last year, CMU’s freshmen amassed nine goals, six assists, and 24 points, numbers this year’s freshman class has a chance to surpass. Not since 1999, the second year of the program, has a freshman class totaled double-digits in goals and assists. That ’99 group piled up a whopping 23 goals, 11 assists, and 57 points, led by scoring machine Emilie VilleMonte (11 goals, two assists, 24 points).
Free Kicks
• Kent State eliminated CMU from last year’s MAC Tournament. CMU is 5-2 all-time when facing the team that knocked it out of the conference tourney the previous year.
• CMU has never lost at Kent State (2-0-1).
• CMU has never won at Buffalo (0-2-1).
• The Chippewas have won their last three matches played on October 1.
• CMU is 7-1-0 all-time in its first match in the month of October, winning seven straight such contests.
