CMU soccer falls to Miami (Ohio)
Central Michigan redshirt senior Jaelyn Dobrowolski winds up for a shot as Miami Ohio junior forward Sydney Thompson goes to deflect the ball on Thursday, Oct 24, at the CMU Soccer Complex. Dobrowolski had one assist in the game and has four on the season. (CM-Life | Mark Hoover)
Central Michigan soccer hosted Miami (Ohio) where the Chippewas fell 2-1 to the RedHawks.
CMU moves to 5-7-4 on the season and 3-3-3 in conference play. With only two games left in the regular season, the Chippewas is now tied for fifth in the Mid-American Conference.
"Our conference is kind of nuts," head coach Jeremy Groves said. "I think there's only one team mathematically eliminated right now.Tonight didn't help us, but again we've just got to bounce back and were capable of doing that.
"The results have showed all year that anyone's capable of beating anyone on the day."
The first half saw both teams playing suffocating defense, splitting the time of possession evenly with Miami's offense outshooting the Chippewas 12-1.
It seemed that Miami (Ohio) was about to break the deadlock at the 19-minute mark as the RedHawk offense found the back of the net, but an offsides penalty negated the goal.
Central Michigan goalkeeper Allison LaPoint registered three saves, maintaining a shutout going into the half tied with the RedHawks.
Coming out of halftime, the Chippewas looked to control the pace of the game as they quickly began moving the ball deep into RedHawk territory.
However, at the 52-minute mark, Miami (Ohio) was successful in scoring the games first points as Kylie Beinecke found Sydney Thompson in front of the net for the early second half score.
The RedHawks continued this momentum at the 55-minute mark with Miami forward Taylor Hamlett finding a goal off of a set piece, giving Miami a 2-0 lead early in the second half.
"I think we've given up two or three now in the last couple of games directly from set pieces, so that's something we're going to have to continue to work on," Groves said.
CMU seemed to find its stride late in the game, with Lauren Walker finding a goal in the final minute of the game. The goal made the final score 2-1 in favor of Miami (Ohio).
"We showed some grit there at the end, and obviously scored a goal a little too late, but we've got to pick ourselves up here and got to keep going on Sunday," Groves said.
The Chippewas will look to bounce back this Sunday as they travel to Athens, Ohio to take on the Ohio Bobcats at 1 p.m.
