Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Ready for Big Road Trip
8/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
MOUNT PLEASANT -- After opening the regular season with a win, the Central Michigan soccer team is hoping history can repeat itself.
The Chippewas (1-0-0) face Big 12 foe Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. on Friday before returning to Michigan to face Oakland on Sunday.
The last time CMU faced a Big 12 foe on the road, the Chippewas came home with a 2-1 victory over No. 17 Nebraska in 2006.
“We’re excited to take a trip out of region,” head coach Tony DiTucci said. “Something we try to do every year is to travel to an opponent outside the Midwest. We’ve been fortunate to be able to take trips to Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Nebraska and Niagara Falls since I’ve been here.
“We also use the non-conference games to prepare us for the conference schedule, and this is a game that does both. It gets us out of region and it’s a strong team.”
Oklahoma (0-1-0) fell in its season opener, 3-1 to Colorado College. The Sooners went 6-10-3 a season ago.
Facing Oklahoma also gives the Chippewas a chance to play in a hostile environment, something DiTucci says is also a big test for his team on Friday.
“We want to put our kids in tough environments and challenging game situations so that they’re able to deal with adversity later in the year,” he said.
Sunday’s opponent, Oakland (10-8-2 in 2007), is no slouch either. The Grizzlies were predicted to win their third straight Summit League championship and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons.
“Oakland has been consistently good within their conference,” DiTucci said. “They have an excellent coach and they are always very organized and prepared. The challenge will be to play two good teams back-to-back, because that will happen in conference play.”
The Chippewas are 1-3-0 against the Grizzlies, with CMU earning a 3-2 victory in Mount Pleasant the last time the two teams met in 2002. OU (0-1-0) fell to Michigan State in its season opener, 5-1.
Central picked up a win in its opening game of 2008 with a 3-1 decision against Detroit last week. Stephanie Martin led the way with four points on a goal and two assists as the junior picked up right where she left off from a season ago, when she led the team with eight goals and 22 points.
Kickoff against Oklahoma is set for 7 p.m., CDT, while Central and Oakland square off at 3 p.m.
Live stats will be available for the match against Oklahoma and can be found here. The webcast can also be seen live, which cam be found here.
