After another tie, soccer has tough road to qualify for MAC Tournament
The Central Michigan soccer team huddles at the CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.
For the fourth time this season, a Central Michigan soccer game ended in a draw.
After playing to a 0-0 draw Thursday at the CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex, the Chippewas (7-3-4, 4-3-2 Mid-American Conference) and Buffalo (8-6-2, 5-3-1 MAC) each earned a point toward the conference standings.
The Bulls got off to a fast start and controlled much of the early part of the game. CMU was able to adjust and controlled most of the rest of the game, including two overtime periods.
“We didn’t start the game like we wanted to,” said coach Jeremy Groves. “I thought we grew into the game as it went along and in the end we probably had the better chances.”
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Zoie Reed recorded her sixth shutout of the season, making five saves.
Buffalo appeared to score a goal early in the first half but was called offside, and the goal was waived off.
The Chippewas had 19 shots, six of which were on goal, but the team was unable to convert any of those opportunities.
Freshman forward Lauren DeBeau led the Chippewas with eight shots, putting four on goal.
As the final seconds ticked away during the first overtime, DeBeau crossed the ball into the box and senior Marle Bringard, who leads the team with six goals, including four game-winners, fired an open header towards the net that barely missed to the right.
“At the end of the first overtime, both Lauren and Marle had great opportunities,” Groves said. “Lauren hit it first time, she could’ve probably brought it down and slid it home. Marle, obviously, clean header inside the box ... every other day, she scores that.”
Conference implications
Following the tie, the Chippewas dropped to sixth place in the MAC, while Buffalo moved into a tie for third in the conference.
Western Michigan and Ohio each earned wins Thursday that helped push them ahead of CMU in the standings into the tie for third with the Bulls.
The Chippewas have two games remaining on the regular season schedule.
The first takes place at 1 p.m. Sunday against Akron (7-9-1, 4-4-1) in Mount Pleasant. The Zips are currently one point behind the Chippewas in the conference standings. A win against Akron would go a long way to securing a spot in the MAC Tournament for CMU.
“I think we’re probably about two points away from actually getting into the tournament.” Groves said. “We've got two games left, six points to play for.”
The Chippewas' season finale comes at 3 p.m. Oct. 31 against Eastern Michigan (4-11-2, 3-6-0 MAC) at the CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.
