Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, September 23
Oxford, Ohio
4 p.m.
Central Michigan University
at
Miami (Ohio)
CMU Athletics Weekly Preview
9/22/2021 5:46:00 PM | Field Hockey, General, Women's Golf, Soccer, Volleyball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It's a big weekend for Central Michigan Athletics, with five teams in action, four of them on campus.
The CMU soccer and volleyball teams are set to open Mid-American Conference play, the football team plays its final nonconference game of the season, and the field hockey squad resumes MAC competition.
SOCCER
After a week off from competition, Central Michigan (3-3-0) will finish out a three-game road stretch on Thursday, Sept. 23 (4 p.m.) when it opens MAC play at Miami (Ohio) (3-2-3) on the RedHawks' Bobby Kramig Field in Oxford.
CMU has won three straight, all 1-0 results. Gaelle Wells scored her team-high second goal of the season to lift Central to victory in its last outing, on Sept. 12 at Eastern Illinois. Sophomore forward Jaelyn Dobrowolski, who shares the team lead in points (4) with Wells, assisted on the game winner.
Goalkeeper Allison LaPoint earned MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors a week ago after running her shutout streak to three. Her .806 save percentage ranks second in the MAC.
Miami is coming off back-to-back 2-0 nonconference wins (Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky). Sophomore forward Haley Anspach leads the RedHawks with six points (two goals, two assists). Senior goalkeeper Izzie Vaccari is second in the MAC with a 0.81 goals against average.
Central Michigan will then entertain Ball State in the Chippewas' home MAC opener on Sunday, Sept. 26 (1 p.m.) at the CMU Soccer Complex. The Cardinals are 2-4-0 following a 3-0 loss to Butler on Sunday; they are scheduled to play host to Eastern Michigan on Thursday before visiting Mount Pleasant. Nicky Potts and Chelcy Ralph top BSU with two goals each.
VOLLEYBALL
The CMU volleyball team is set to open MAC play when it entertains Northern Illinois in a two-match series at McGuirk Arena. The teams open on Friday and close the set on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
CMU is 6-6 and last weekend finished 1-2 in the Michigan State Green & White Invitational. NIU is 6-4 and coming off back-to-back losses to Green Bay and No. 2-ranked Wisconsin, respectively.
CMU leads the league with 13.91 kills per set and with 19.84 digs/set; the Chippewas are tied for the league lead with 12.86 assists/set.
Chippewas ranking in the top 10 statistically in the league are Savannah Thompson, fifth, kills; set; and seventh, digs/set; Maddie Whitfield, third, blocks/set; and Aly Gurtiza, first, digs/set.
The Huskies are second in the MAC with 1.68 aces/set. Individually, NIU's Charli Atiemo is fifth in hitting percentage; Katie Jablonski is sixth in kills/set and third in aces/set; and Grace Balensiefer is second in assists/set.
FIELD HOCKEY
The Chippewas resume MAC play on Friday (1 p.m.) when they welcome No. 23 Kent State to at Cristy Freese Field.
CMU is 6-1, 0-1 MAC after opening league play last week with a 2-1 loss at Ball State. Kent State is 5-2, 1-0. The Golden Flashes downed Ohio, 3-2, in double overtime in their MAC opener last weekend.
Kate Biglin is the Chippewas' top offensive producer with seven points (three goals, two assists), while Rachel Ruttenberg shares the team lead with Biglin with two goals. CMU goalkeeper Katie Maxim ranks third in the league with 6.29 saves per game.
The Golden Flashes have defeated No. 14 Syracuse and No. 22 Ohio State this season. Junior forward Sydney Washburn was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week last week after she scored the two goals, including the game winner, in the victory over Ohio. Four of the top seven scorers in the league are Golden Flashes.
GOLF
The CMU women's golf team returns to tournament play on Sunday at the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Invitational.
The two-day, 36-hole tournament will be played at Oakland's Katke-Cousins Golf Course in Rochester. The Chippewas and host Grizzlies will be joined in the field by Eastern Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne, Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State, and Dayton.
Sunday's first round begins at noon and Monday's final round carries a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
The Chippewas won their own season-opening A-Ga-Ming Invitational just over two weeks ago in Kewadin. They shot 305-306-303 – 914 in winning the tournament. The third-round 303 tied for the seventh best in program history and the 914 is the fifth best 54-hole score in CMU history.
The win was CMU's fourth since fall, 2019. The Chippewas began the streak with a win in the 2019 Golden Grizzlies Invitational.
FOOTBALL
The CMU football team is set to take on Florida International on Saturday (noon) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. It is CMU's final regular-season game before it goes to Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 2 for the Mid-American Conference opener.
The Chippewas (1-2) fell, 49-21, at LSU last week; FIU (1-2) lost at Texas Tech, 54-21, last week.
The CMU soccer and volleyball teams are set to open Mid-American Conference play, the football team plays its final nonconference game of the season, and the field hockey squad resumes MAC competition.
SOCCER
After a week off from competition, Central Michigan (3-3-0) will finish out a three-game road stretch on Thursday, Sept. 23 (4 p.m.) when it opens MAC play at Miami (Ohio) (3-2-3) on the RedHawks' Bobby Kramig Field in Oxford.
CMU has won three straight, all 1-0 results. Gaelle Wells scored her team-high second goal of the season to lift Central to victory in its last outing, on Sept. 12 at Eastern Illinois. Sophomore forward Jaelyn Dobrowolski, who shares the team lead in points (4) with Wells, assisted on the game winner.
Goalkeeper Allison LaPoint earned MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors a week ago after running her shutout streak to three. Her .806 save percentage ranks second in the MAC.
Miami is coming off back-to-back 2-0 nonconference wins (Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky). Sophomore forward Haley Anspach leads the RedHawks with six points (two goals, two assists). Senior goalkeeper Izzie Vaccari is second in the MAC with a 0.81 goals against average.
Central Michigan will then entertain Ball State in the Chippewas' home MAC opener on Sunday, Sept. 26 (1 p.m.) at the CMU Soccer Complex. The Cardinals are 2-4-0 following a 3-0 loss to Butler on Sunday; they are scheduled to play host to Eastern Michigan on Thursday before visiting Mount Pleasant. Nicky Potts and Chelcy Ralph top BSU with two goals each.
VOLLEYBALL
The CMU volleyball team is set to open MAC play when it entertains Northern Illinois in a two-match series at McGuirk Arena. The teams open on Friday and close the set on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
CMU is 6-6 and last weekend finished 1-2 in the Michigan State Green & White Invitational. NIU is 6-4 and coming off back-to-back losses to Green Bay and No. 2-ranked Wisconsin, respectively.
CMU leads the league with 13.91 kills per set and with 19.84 digs/set; the Chippewas are tied for the league lead with 12.86 assists/set.
Chippewas ranking in the top 10 statistically in the league are Savannah Thompson, fifth, kills; set; and seventh, digs/set; Maddie Whitfield, third, blocks/set; and Aly Gurtiza, first, digs/set.
The Huskies are second in the MAC with 1.68 aces/set. Individually, NIU's Charli Atiemo is fifth in hitting percentage; Katie Jablonski is sixth in kills/set and third in aces/set; and Grace Balensiefer is second in assists/set.
FIELD HOCKEY
The Chippewas resume MAC play on Friday (1 p.m.) when they welcome No. 23 Kent State to at Cristy Freese Field.
CMU is 6-1, 0-1 MAC after opening league play last week with a 2-1 loss at Ball State. Kent State is 5-2, 1-0. The Golden Flashes downed Ohio, 3-2, in double overtime in their MAC opener last weekend.
Kate Biglin is the Chippewas' top offensive producer with seven points (three goals, two assists), while Rachel Ruttenberg shares the team lead with Biglin with two goals. CMU goalkeeper Katie Maxim ranks third in the league with 6.29 saves per game.
The Golden Flashes have defeated No. 14 Syracuse and No. 22 Ohio State this season. Junior forward Sydney Washburn was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week last week after she scored the two goals, including the game winner, in the victory over Ohio. Four of the top seven scorers in the league are Golden Flashes.
GOLF
The CMU women's golf team returns to tournament play on Sunday at the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Invitational.
The two-day, 36-hole tournament will be played at Oakland's Katke-Cousins Golf Course in Rochester. The Chippewas and host Grizzlies will be joined in the field by Eastern Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne, Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State, and Dayton.
Sunday's first round begins at noon and Monday's final round carries a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
The Chippewas won their own season-opening A-Ga-Ming Invitational just over two weeks ago in Kewadin. They shot 305-306-303 – 914 in winning the tournament. The third-round 303 tied for the seventh best in program history and the 914 is the fifth best 54-hole score in CMU history.
The win was CMU's fourth since fall, 2019. The Chippewas began the streak with a win in the 2019 Golden Grizzlies Invitational.
FOOTBALL
The CMU football team is set to take on Florida International on Saturday (noon) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. It is CMU's final regular-season game before it goes to Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 2 for the Mid-American Conference opener.
The Chippewas (1-2) fell, 49-21, at LSU last week; FIU (1-2) lost at Texas Tech, 54-21, last week.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Field Hockey
F
/ Soccer
Libero/Defensive Specialist
/ Volleyball
GK
/ Soccer
GK
/ Field Hockey
F
/ Field Hockey
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
F
/ Soccer
Middle Blocker
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