McGahey: Draws are contextual in the now
CMU Sophomore Alexis Pilafs is defense during the game of CMU vs. Miami, on Sep 30, on CMU Soccer Lacrosse Complex.
Last Sunday against Ball State marked the first time the Central Michigan women's soccer team had a match result in a draw this season.
After playing 215 minutes out of a possible 220 last weekend — all 20 minutes of overtime on Sunday and 15 minutes on Friday — head coach Peter McGahey says every game is taken differently, regardless of the outcome.
"Every tie is different," he said. "It doesn't fall into the neat little box of 'it feels like a win' or 'it feels like a loss' because it's not either. It's a unique part of our game that makes some people frustrated. It is what it is. Some days you feel like (tying) is a relief, some day's it's a disappointment. Sunday felt like a little bit of both. We didn't get the result we wanted."
With the team at 10-1-1 and 2-1-1 in the Mid-American Conference, the success of the program compared to last season's 6-10-3 is obvious. But McGahey can't compare taking a draw last season to this season.
"This is a new year, this is the time now," McGahey said. "Draws are contextual. Draws are contextual in the now. You can be a very good team and the reason draws matter is because our game is hard. I mean, you start the game with a draw. So you can't compare them season to season and they are contextual in terms of how it feels based on the game day."
The players on the team took the draw as "not the result that they wanted but the result that we got," according to McGahey. He also said you can take a win well or a win wrong, along with a tie, depending on the situation and the opponent.
"We wanted to win and believed we could win, but we didn't. So did Ball State," he said. "It's all about how we continue to move forward in the season. Against the level of teams and the level of intensity that we have — that's a quality accomplishment."
Since McGahey was hired as head coach in 2013, seven games have ended in draws for the Chippewas, including two against Detroit and the shootout loss in the MAC Tournament last season against Buffalo.
The Chippewas play at Toledo today at 4 p.m.
