Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, May 5
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Kent State
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
MAC's Top 4 Lacrosse Teams Will Settle It This Weekend At CMU
5/4/2022 8:25:00 AM | Lacrosse
CMU is the No. 1 seed for inaugural MAC Tournament; NCAA Tourney berth at stake
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Three months of lacrosse and not much has been settled.
In three days, it will be.
Central Michigan is set to host the inaugural Mid-American Conference Tournament beginning on Thursday at the CMU Lacrosse/Soccer Complex. The top-seeded Chippewas (10-7) will take on fourth-seeded Kent State (6-11) in the 1 p.m. semifinal. No. 2-seed Youngstown State (10-7) and third-seeded Robert Morris (8-8) meet in the 4 p.m. semifinal.
The title game is Saturday (1 p.m.). Admission is free to all three games. The tournament champion earns the league's bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Chippewas, Robert Morris and Youngstown State each finished 8-2 in league play to share the regular season championship. It marks the second season that the MAC has sponsored women's lacrosse. Robert Morris won the 2021 title after finishing 10-0 in conference games. There was no league tournament that season.
CMU is in its seventh year of varsity lacrosse and Sara Tisdale has been the coach since the outset. The Chippewas' first, and only, title came in 2018 when they shared the Southern Conference regular season crown.
"We're looking at this as if it's the first game of the season," Tisdale said. "I feel comfortable going into the postseason because I know what this team's capable of. We're still learning and growing too. This has been one of the more fun teams to coach, for me, because they keep challenging me, we keep challenging each other, and the bar keeps rising.
"I don't think we've hit our peak yet, which is a good spot to be in."
The Chippewas defeated Kent State twice this season, 20-6 and 14-10. They split their two meetings with both the Penguins and the Colonials. Three of those four meetings were decided by one goal. Youngstown State defeated Robert Morris, 19-17, in the regular season finale last week.
CMU's 12-11 come-from-behind win over Robert Morris nearly two weeks ago was both immediately important because it kept CMU alive in the hunt for the regular season crown, and from a historical perspective. It marked the first time the Chippewas had beaten the Colonials in six meetings, and it was the first time that Robert Morris had lost a conference game.
"We played a very disciplined game for 60 minutes, executed our game plan top to bottom," Tisdale said of that win over Robert Morris. "And we look back on some of our other games where we didn't do that.
"I think we're an athletic team; we're probably one of the fastest teams in the MAC, so we're really able to push the game in transition. Our ride has been very successful throughout the year."
The Chippewas can present matchup problems because of their scoring balance. Maggie Diebold leads CMU with 57 goals, the second-highest total for a single season in program history, while four others – Audrey Whiteside, Kelly Hoyt, Kendall Hoyt and Courtney Burke – have scored at least 24 each. Three others carry double-digit goal totals.
"We like to be in that spot," Tisdale said. "When we scout an opponent, we see maybe one, two, three top scorers. I wouldn't want to have to scout us right now."
In three days, it will be.
Central Michigan is set to host the inaugural Mid-American Conference Tournament beginning on Thursday at the CMU Lacrosse/Soccer Complex. The top-seeded Chippewas (10-7) will take on fourth-seeded Kent State (6-11) in the 1 p.m. semifinal. No. 2-seed Youngstown State (10-7) and third-seeded Robert Morris (8-8) meet in the 4 p.m. semifinal.
The title game is Saturday (1 p.m.). Admission is free to all three games. The tournament champion earns the league's bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Chippewas, Robert Morris and Youngstown State each finished 8-2 in league play to share the regular season championship. It marks the second season that the MAC has sponsored women's lacrosse. Robert Morris won the 2021 title after finishing 10-0 in conference games. There was no league tournament that season.
CMU is in its seventh year of varsity lacrosse and Sara Tisdale has been the coach since the outset. The Chippewas' first, and only, title came in 2018 when they shared the Southern Conference regular season crown.
"We're looking at this as if it's the first game of the season," Tisdale said. "I feel comfortable going into the postseason because I know what this team's capable of. We're still learning and growing too. This has been one of the more fun teams to coach, for me, because they keep challenging me, we keep challenging each other, and the bar keeps rising.
"I don't think we've hit our peak yet, which is a good spot to be in."
The Chippewas defeated Kent State twice this season, 20-6 and 14-10. They split their two meetings with both the Penguins and the Colonials. Three of those four meetings were decided by one goal. Youngstown State defeated Robert Morris, 19-17, in the regular season finale last week.
CMU's 12-11 come-from-behind win over Robert Morris nearly two weeks ago was both immediately important because it kept CMU alive in the hunt for the regular season crown, and from a historical perspective. It marked the first time the Chippewas had beaten the Colonials in six meetings, and it was the first time that Robert Morris had lost a conference game.
"We played a very disciplined game for 60 minutes, executed our game plan top to bottom," Tisdale said of that win over Robert Morris. "And we look back on some of our other games where we didn't do that.
"I think we're an athletic team; we're probably one of the fastest teams in the MAC, so we're really able to push the game in transition. Our ride has been very successful throughout the year."
The Chippewas can present matchup problems because of their scoring balance. Maggie Diebold leads CMU with 57 goals, the second-highest total for a single season in program history, while four others – Audrey Whiteside, Kelly Hoyt, Kendall Hoyt and Courtney Burke – have scored at least 24 each. Three others carry double-digit goal totals.
"We like to be in that spot," Tisdale said. "When we scout an opponent, we see maybe one, two, three top scorers. I wouldn't want to have to scout us right now."
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