Potts scores game winner as soccer moves to historic 8-0
The Central Michigan soccer team had a chance on Sunday to do something no previous team had ever done in the history of the program — begin a season 8-0.
The soccer team made history Sunday with a 1-0 win against Oakland (4-4-1) in Mount Pleasant.
“(Today) is a day where we celebrated a tremendous senior day and the senior class," McGahey said. "We put out an emotionally charged performance. We grinded and gritted it out. It just shows the character of the team to come out and put out a good performance to end the non-conference season. I think this is pretty neat recognition.”
Neither team scored in the first half, but CMU had 10 shots and three on goal. Four of CMU’s 10 shots came from sophomore forward Alexis Pelafas, two from senior defenseman Taylor Potts and two from senior midfielder Samantha Maher. Both of Oakland’s shots were from senior forward Alice Palmer.
In the 58th minute of the second half, senior defenseman Taylor Potts shot the ball from the top of the box to the upper right corner of the net to make it 1-0 in favor of the Chippewas. It was her second goal of the season and the only goal CMU needed to make history.
Senior midfielder Samantha Maher went down with an ankle injury in the 77th minute and did not return to the game. It took her about 10 minutes from the moment she went down to be able to walk off the sideline where she was being treated and return to the bench. She was replaced by junior midfielder McKay Matheson.
McGahey is unsure of Maher's injury status, but says he hopes “ice and a little ice cream” will make her better for the next game.
If she isn’t ready for next week, McGahey said he expects the team to rise to the challenge of filling her absence.
“The depth and overall impact of players on our roster are really good," he said. "If we’re faced with a little adversity with Sam being out, we’ll expect someone else to step up and make the plays.”
The Chippewas begin Mid-American Conference play at 7:30 p.m Friday at Northern Illinois.
“With MAC play starting next week, the reality is that you start 0-0,” McGahey said. “It’s the wrong approach to say ‘hey, (non-conference play) doesn’t mean anything.’ It means a lot. Not many teams across the country are going to wake up Monday morning and be 8-0. Well, the CMU women’s soccer team is. We can build on that energy going into the MAC.”
