Central Michigan University Athletics
Soccer Prepares for Two Non-Conference Showdowns
8/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
MOUNT PLEASANT — Following a strong performance in its season opener at IPFW last weekend, the Central Michigan soccer team faces two stiff tests when it returns to the field this weekend.
The Chippewas host St. Bonaventure in their home opener Friday at 5 p.m. before venturing to Bloomington, Ind. for a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday.
CMU dominated IPFW in its season-opening 4-0 win last Saturday. Liesel Toth, Chelsi Abbott, Laura Twidle and Bailey Brandon scored their first collegiate goals in the victory as the Chippewas won their fourth straight season opener.
“It was great to see us come out with the energy that we did,” head coach Tom Anagnost said. “Our goal now is to find a way to improve upon what we did at IPFW. We know that we are playing great teams and it will force us to step up our level of play.”
SBU also began its season in winning fashion on Saturday, downing in-state foe Syracuse, 2-1, in double overtime. Junior forward Courtney Bosse tallied both Bonnie goals in the victory.
The Bonnies return all 20 letterwinners from their 2008 squad that went 11-8-1 and finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 with a 6-4-1 league mark.
Central played its first ever match against St. Bonaventure in 2008, dropping a tightly contested 1-0 decision despite owning a dominant 14-6 edge in shots.
“St. Bonaventure is a good team,” Anagnost said. “The coach there has done a great job and the program has gotten better every year. We lost to them last year and they have everyone back. I expect this to be a challenging match for us.”
Central’s contest against Indiana will be the first meeting between the two programs. The Hoosiers blanked Wright State, 2-0, in their season opener on Saturday while not allowing one shot on goal. IU returns all 11 starters from its 2008 team that finished 8-10-1 with a 3-6-1 mark in Big Ten play.
“Indiana is a deep and athletic team who plays well at home,” Anagnost said. “This will give us a chance to prove that we can go on the road and compete with some of the tougher teams on our schedule.”
Final statistics and a complete recap of the match will be available on cmuchippewas.com following both weekend contests.
CMU News and Notes
Shutting it Down — After boasting the MAC’s best defense in 2008, CMU has already displayed its stingy form from a year ago. The Chippewas held IPFW to only two shot attempts in their 4-0 season-opening win. The shot total is the lowest Central has yielded since holding Valparaiso to only one shot attempt on Aug. 27, 2000.
A Baker’s Dozen — Shay Mannino turned aside the only shot that came her way at IPFW to notch her 13th career shutout (second most in school history). The victory also moved the Grosse Ile, Mich. native into third place on CMU’s career list with 17.
Four Score — The Chippewas’ attack boasted four different goal scorers (Liesel Toth, Chelsi Abbott, Laura Twidle and Bailey Brandon) in their season-opening victory at IPFW. The last time CMU had that balanced of an attack was in its previous trip to IPFW (Sept. 9, 2007) when Molly Gerst (two goals), Stephanie Martin, Amanda Waugh, Erica Rohren, Hannah Lankford, Ali Nichols and Akli Delvecchio each found the back of the net in an 8-1 victory.
The Chippewas host St. Bonaventure in their home opener Friday at 5 p.m. before venturing to Bloomington, Ind. for a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday.
CMU dominated IPFW in its season-opening 4-0 win last Saturday. Liesel Toth, Chelsi Abbott, Laura Twidle and Bailey Brandon scored their first collegiate goals in the victory as the Chippewas won their fourth straight season opener.
“It was great to see us come out with the energy that we did,” head coach Tom Anagnost said. “Our goal now is to find a way to improve upon what we did at IPFW. We know that we are playing great teams and it will force us to step up our level of play.”
SBU also began its season in winning fashion on Saturday, downing in-state foe Syracuse, 2-1, in double overtime. Junior forward Courtney Bosse tallied both Bonnie goals in the victory.
The Bonnies return all 20 letterwinners from their 2008 squad that went 11-8-1 and finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 with a 6-4-1 league mark.
Central played its first ever match against St. Bonaventure in 2008, dropping a tightly contested 1-0 decision despite owning a dominant 14-6 edge in shots.
“St. Bonaventure is a good team,” Anagnost said. “The coach there has done a great job and the program has gotten better every year. We lost to them last year and they have everyone back. I expect this to be a challenging match for us.”
Central’s contest against Indiana will be the first meeting between the two programs. The Hoosiers blanked Wright State, 2-0, in their season opener on Saturday while not allowing one shot on goal. IU returns all 11 starters from its 2008 team that finished 8-10-1 with a 3-6-1 mark in Big Ten play.
“Indiana is a deep and athletic team who plays well at home,” Anagnost said. “This will give us a chance to prove that we can go on the road and compete with some of the tougher teams on our schedule.”
Final statistics and a complete recap of the match will be available on cmuchippewas.com following both weekend contests.
CMU News and Notes
Shutting it Down — After boasting the MAC’s best defense in 2008, CMU has already displayed its stingy form from a year ago. The Chippewas held IPFW to only two shot attempts in their 4-0 season-opening win. The shot total is the lowest Central has yielded since holding Valparaiso to only one shot attempt on Aug. 27, 2000.
A Baker’s Dozen — Shay Mannino turned aside the only shot that came her way at IPFW to notch her 13th career shutout (second most in school history). The victory also moved the Grosse Ile, Mich. native into third place on CMU’s career list with 17.
Four Score — The Chippewas’ attack boasted four different goal scorers (Liesel Toth, Chelsi Abbott, Laura Twidle and Bailey Brandon) in their season-opening victory at IPFW. The last time CMU had that balanced of an attack was in its previous trip to IPFW (Sept. 9, 2007) when Molly Gerst (two goals), Stephanie Martin, Amanda Waugh, Erica Rohren, Hannah Lankford, Ali Nichols and Akli Delvecchio each found the back of the net in an 8-1 victory.
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