CMU falls to No. 24 DePaul, goes 0-2 on weekend
For the second time this season, an own goal cost Central Michigan University soccer the game in a 1-0 contest. On Sunday, it was against No. 24 DePaul.
Bennett Field opened to fans for the first time this regular season Sunday afternoon as the Chippewas hosted the Blue Demons.
DePaul was given a corner kick in the 71st minute, which led to the goal. It was discovered after the game, when looking at the replay, that the ball deflected off a Chippewa freshman defender Mary Carlson — and not a Blue Demon — and into the goal.
“As I told the team, I think the challenge on a day like today is you always want to deserve more,” said Head Coach Peter McGahey. “We put a good performance out against a team in the Top 25. The hard part is, at the end of the day, we didn’t quite do enough,” McGahey said.
Playing a nationally-ranked team as closely as the Chippewas did gives CMU confidence as the Mid-American Conference schedule approaches.
“The thing that I’m excited about as we continue to move forward is this team has continued to respond in a really positive way in some big games," he said. "It was another positive response."
CMU tallied seven shots compared to nine from the Blue Demons. DePaul’s goalkeeper was forced to make five saves while freshman Zoie Reed made two saves.
“I’m upset about the game but I’m not disappointed,” said junior defender Taylor Potts. “We played really well overall collectively. We moved together as a unit.”
Where they stand
With the home loss, the Chippewas are 1-4-1.
Despite coming up short in efficiency, CMU allowed one less goal than rival-Western Michigan University, who fell 2-0 to DePaul on Friday evening in Chicago.
They are close to the bottom of the conference as far as non-conference play is concerned, along with Northern Illinois (1-6-0), Toledo (2-5-0) and Ohio (1-5-0).
Looking ahead
CMU’s next contest comes Sunday, where they will host Missouri Valley member Illinois State in its last non-conference match of the season.
A scheduled 1 p.m. start, the match against the Red Birds will be the final game for the Chippewas at Bennett Field before they move into the new soccer and lacrosse complex.
The team plans on playing in the new turf stadium full time by the time they return to Mount Pleasant to take on the Miami Redhawks on Oct. 2.
MAC season will start the weekend of Friday, Sept. 25 when CMU will go to WMU and NIU.
