2024 MACtion on the Pitch: Week 3

MAC Women’s soccer would “Fly the Flag” for the second straight week, as regular season matches continue

Welcome back to MACtion on the Pitch, your weekly recap of Mid-American Conference women’s soccer. We’re already three weeks into the season. Let’s take a look at the week that was.

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Akron (3-0-1)

No matches for the Zips this week.

Upcoming matches:

9/5 at Robert Morris

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Ball State (2-2-0)

8/29 at Butler (L)
9/1 at Michigan (W)

Ball State would take a short trip to Indianapolis to face the Bulldogs, but it was all Butler all the time in a 3-0 win. Kate Pallante and Grace Konopatzki would combine for three saves in the loss.

The Cardinals then faced Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines only needed 7:50 to get on the board. Ball State would equalize in the 20th minute, with Addie Chester’s second goal of the season (Acadia Murphy assist). Less than ten minutes later, Delaney Caldwell would put Ball State on top for good (Chester assist). The Cardinals earned their second win of the campaign, flying the flag against Michigan.

Upcoming matches:

9/5 at Austin Peay
9/8 vs Queens

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Bowling Green (2-2-0)

9/1 at Loyola Chicago (L)

Bowling Green took on the Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago. Neither team would find an early advantage throughout the first half. The Ramblers would score in the 56th minute, icing the game. Bowling Green would lose their second straight game 1-0. Madison Vukas would make six saves in the loss.

Upcoming matches:

9/8 at Cleveland State

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#25 Buffalo (2-0-1)

8/29 at Cornell (D)

Buffalo traveled to take on Cornell. The Big Red would strike first in the 34th minute, and the halftime score would be 1-0. Buffalo struggled to find the equalizer until Jasmine Guerber scored her second of the season in the 79th minute. The final whistle would blow and the Bulls would leave Ithaca with a 1-1 draw. Check out Guerber’s goal below:

Upcoming matches:

9/4 vs Canisius
9/8 vs Colgate

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Central Michigan (1-3-0)

8/29 at TCU (L)
9/1 at Texas (L)

Riding high off their big win against Cincinnati, the Chippewas would begin their Texas road trip against the Horned Frogs. Central would only get two shots off the whole game, as TCU ran away with a 3-0 win. Allison LaPoint made four saves in the loss. She became the sixth Chippewa to amass 200 career saves.

The Chippewas then faced the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns jumped ahead in the 17th minute to take the 1-0 lead to halftime, then double it up in the 57th minute to make it 2-0, which was ultimately the final tally. LaPoint would make 12 saves in the game, tied for third in CMU program history. She now sits fourth all-time in career saves at Central.

Upcoming matches:

9/5 vs South Dakota
9/8 vs Green Bay

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Eastern Michigan (4-1-0)

8/29 vs Purdue Fort Wayne (W)
9/1 at Cincinnati (L)

The Eagles welcomed the Mastodons to Scicluna Field. Eastern only needed 16:21 to score, and essentially win the game. Maddie O’Farrell would score the game winner (Olivia Sipsock and Josie Langhans assists), and the Eagles defeated the Mastodons 1-0. Ella Holland made three saves in the shutout. Eastern Michigan started 4-0 for the first time since 1999.

The Eagles would look to continue their unbeaten run in Cincinnati. Starting in the 17th minute, Cincinnati would score 3 goals in 6:08 to go up 3-0. The Eagles found consolation in the 85th minute with Cameryn Susey getting Eastern on the board. The Eagles lost 3-1, suffering their first defeat

Upcoming matches:

9/12 at Valparaiso

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Kent State (3-0-1)

8/29 at James Madison (No Contest)
9/1 at Colgate (W)

Kent State traveled to take on James Madison. The Dukes would take the lead in the 21st minute, and keep that 1-0 advantage through the halftime break. Kent State would fight to find an equalizer, but numerous weather delays forced a no contest on the night.

The Flashes traveled to Hamilton, New York to take on Colgate. This one was a thriller. Colgate found the net first in the 21st minute, and the 1-0 Raider lead would hold at the halftime break. In the 51st minute, Alisa Arthur would equalize for Kent State (Allison Collins assist). 4:23 later, Arthur would convert a penalty to put the Flashes up 2-1. Check it out here:

Colgate would equalize in the 72nd minute, making it feel like the game would end in a draw, but that would not be the case on this night, as Kent State’s Addy Cusick would score an absolute banger with 18 seconds left to give the Flashes the walk-off win (Thea Oberhoff assist).

Upcoming matches:

9/8 at Duquesne

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Miami (2-1-2)

8/29 vs Northern Kentucky (W)
9/1 vs #21 South Carolina (D)

Miami hosted the Norse of NKU. Miami would get on the board in the 27th minute. Makenna Morrison took the awarded penalty kick, and converted off a deflection. NKU would equalize in the 37th minute, and the halftime score would remain at 1-1. Miami would take the lead in the 54th minute. Taylor Hamlett would score her fifth goal of the season (Maris Jennings assist) to put the Redhawks up 2-1. In the 78th minute, Miami was awarded a penalty. Kylee Beinecke would convert the penalty, and the RedHawks would win 3-1.

The RedHawks would welcome South Carolina to Oxford. Despite having a 15-8 shot advantage, South Carolina would fail to score. Miami’s defense held strong to keep the 0-0 shutout through the final whistle. RedHawk goalkeeper Dominique Popa would make four saves en route to the shutout.

Upcoming matches:

9/8 at Southern Indiana

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Northern Illinois (3-0-1)

8/29 vs Southern Indiana (W)
9/1 at Oakland (W)

Northern Illinois welcomed the Screaming Eagles to DeKalb. If you like goals, this game was the one for you.

NIU’s Tyra King scored 6:58 into the game (Isabel Struble assist). Southern Indiana would equalize late in the first half to make the game 1-1. After the halftime break, it was all NIU. Lea Gruennagel scored 1:15 into the second half. Kelsi McLaughlin would score in the 52nd minute. Tyra King scored her second of the match in the 64th minute (Alyssa Stephenson assist). Mckenna Campbell-Turkalj scored in the 78th minute (Reegan Kingpavong assist). Mikayla Rivera would put the icing on the cake in the 88th minute (Campbell-Turkalj assist). When it was all said and done, NIU defeated Southern Indiana 6-1.

NIU would then travel to Oakland. After an evenly matched 45 minutes, the halftime score was 0-0. In the 59th minute, NIU’s Tyra King would score her 3rd goal of the season (Kelsi McLaughlin and Alyssa Stephenson assists). King’s goal would be the game winner, as NIU defeated Oakland 1-0 for their third win of the year. Ary Purifoy earned the shutout, and didn’t have to make a save.

Upcoming matches:

9/5 at Notre Dame
9/8 at Eastern Illinois

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Ohio (2-1-1)

9/1 at Valparaiso (W)

The Bobcats traveled to Valparaiso. To keep this one short and sweet, it was all Bobcats.

Ella Deevers scored in the 19th minute. Scout Murray would score a hat trick to make it 4-0 in the 69th minute (Iro Fakinou and Jaimason Brooker (2) assists). Check out Murray’s hat trick clinching goal here:

Lillian Weller would cap off the scoring to make it 5-0 (Anna Burchett and Maia Soulis assists). Ohio would pick up their second win of the season. Celeste Sloma only needed to make one save in the shutout.

Upcoming matches:

9/5 vs Marshall

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Toledo (1-2-1)

8/30 vs Detroit Mercy (W)

Toledo, searching for their first win of 2024, hosted the Detroit Mercy Titans. Neither team could get an early advantage, and the halftime score would remain at 0-0. In the 62nd minute, Toledo’s Grace Turski would net the opening goal (Tori Lyncha and Olivia Dault assists). Turski’s goal would be the game winner, as Toledo earned their first win of 2024. Rocket goalkeeper Agnes Stenlund would make two saves on the way to the shutout.

Upcoming matches:

9/5 at Loyola Chicago
9/8 at Oakland

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Western Michigan (2-1-2)

8/29 at Creighton (L)
9/1 at Wisconsin (D)

The Broncos traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to take on the Blue Jays. Creighton scored in the ninth minute, 15th minute, and 76th minute to shutout the Broncos 3-0.

Western Michigan then traveled to Madison to take on the Badgers. Neither team would score in the first half, holding the halftime score at 0-0. In the 64th minute, Jen Blitchok would score the opener for the Broncos (Maya Dean assist). Less than five minutes later, Wisconsin found the equalizer. Both teams would earn a draw, capping off a rather tough week for the Broncos.

Upcoming matches:

9/8 at Detroit Mercy

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MAC Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

• Scout Murray, junior forward, Ohio

The Reigning MACtournament scored a hat trick in the Bobcats’ 5-0 win over Valparaiso, propelling her to third in the league in goals this week.

Defensive Players of the Week

• Celeste Sloma, junior goalkeeper, Ohio

The Columbus, Ohio native only needed to tally one save in the 5-0 shutout win over Northern Kentucky. This was her second shutout of the season.

• Dominique Popa, sophomore goalkeeper, Miami

The Odenton, Maryland native made twelve saves on the week, eight against Northern Kentucky and four against #21 South Carolina. She has a .945 save percentage (third in MAC), and an average of five saves per game (tied for second in MAC) in the early season.

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Goal of the Week

This week’s best goal goes to Kent State’s Addy Cusick. A game winner for your first collegiate goal deserves all the praise!

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Moments of the Week

We have to give a shout out to Central Michigan goalkeeper Allison LaPoint! As mentioned above, she had a career day at Texas, helping her move up in program leaderboards. Here was her tenth save of the day to mark the first double-digit save performance for CMU since 2019: