2024 MACtion on the Pitch: Week 4

With just a short amount of time before conference play, teams keep moving along in the non-conference schedule.

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 (3-0-2)

9/5 at Robert Morris (D)

Akron traveled to take on Robert Morris. Short and sweet for this one. The Colonials and Zips would draw 0-0, with Robert Morris leading shot totals 9-5. Penelope Cuirinier would make two saves on the way to the shutout. Akron remains unbeaten through five matches.

Upcoming matches:

9/12 vs Cleveland State
9/15 vs Saint Francis

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Ball State (4-2-0)

9/5 at Austin Peay (W)
9/8 vs Queens (W)

Ball State traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee to take on Austin Peay. The Cardinals took advantage in the 14th minute when Avery Fenchel scored from 30 yards out (Delaney Ahearn assist). Less than eight minutes later, Delaney Caldwell scored her fourth goal of the year (Addie Chester assist). The Cardinals held a 2-0 lead through 45 minutes. Austin Peay needed only 44 seconds in the second half to get on the board. Ball State’s defense held strong after that goal to win 2-1.

Austin Peay Athletics

Ball State then welcomed the Queens University of Charlotte Royals from the Atlantic Sun Conference. This one was all Cardinals. Delaney Caldwell notched one goal and three assists to lead the Cardinals, with Addie Chester notching two goals and one assist. Adding one goal and one assist were Acadia Murphy, Avery Fenchel, and Kaelyn Valleau. LG Moncrief would score a goal as well. Despite the Royals scoring in the 68th minute, Ball State would win this match 7-1.

Upcoming Matches:

9/12 vs IU Indy

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Bowling Green (3-2-0)

9/8 at Cleveland State (W)

The Falcons looked to get off their two game losing streak against the Vikings. Neither team would score until the 33rd minute. Emma Stransky would score the opener to give BG the 1-0 lead (Michelle Hochstadt and Emme Butera assists). The Falcons lead would hold at half. The Falcons would remain dominant on offense, but didn’t score until the 84th minute. Alaina Uncapher would make the score 2-0, and essentially seal the win (Brynn Gardner and Stransky assists). The Falcons earned their third win, with Madison Vukas only needing one save in the shutout.

Upcoming matches:

9/12 vs Oakland

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Buffalo (4-0-1)

9/4 vs Canisius (W)
9/8 vs Colgate (W)

Buffalo welcomed city rival Canisius to UB Stadium. Neither team would find the early advantage, and the halftime score would stay at 0-0. Neither team would pull ahead early in the second half. In the 74th minute, Maya Galko would pull off a Megan Rapinoe and score from the corner kick. At first, there was a bit of confusion on whether the ball crossed the line. After some deliberation, the goal was given. You can be the judge:

Buffalo would go on to win 1-0. Lexie Thompson made three saves in the shutout.

The Bulls then welcomed Colgate. Sarah Woods would net the opener in the 16th minute (Jasmine Guerber and Olivia Bizzoni assists). 4:45 later, Guerber would net her third goal of the season to put the Bulls up 2-0 (Woods assist). Colgate conceded a penalty with 1:18 left in the first half, and Ellie Simmons would convert to make it 3-0. That would be all from that game as Buffalo earned their fourth win of the season. Lexie Thompson made three saves in the shutout.

Upcoming matches:

9/12 at Colorado College
9/15 at Northern Colorado

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Central Michigan (1-4-1)

9/5 vs South Dakota (D)
9/8 vs Green Bay (L)

Central Michigan returned home from their Texas road trip to take on South Dakota. Neither team found an early advantage. In the 28th minute, Central’s Claudia Muessig would score the opener off a free kick. Check out the stunning goal here:

Central would lead 1-0 through the first 45 minutes. South Dakota would equalize in the 59th minute. Central Michigan had a couple of chances within the last couple of minutes, but both teams walked away with the 1-1 draw.

Continuing their homestand, the Chippewas hosted the Phoenix of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Neither team would get a halftime lead, with the score staying at 0-0. Despite a number of chances from Central Michigan, the Phoenix would take the lead in the 78th minute. The Chippewas would not score, and dropped a heartbreaker 1-0. Allison LaPoint would make eight saves in the match.

Upcoming matches:

9/11 vs Purdue Fort Wayne

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Eastern Michigan (4-1-0)

No matches for the Eagles this week.

Upcoming matches:

9/12 at Valparaiso
9/15 at Loyola Chicago

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Kent State (3-1-1)

9/8 at Duquesne (L)

Kent State traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Dukes. Duquesne would take the 1-0 halftime lead after scoring with 4:04 left. 8:59 into the second half, the Dukes would make it 2-0. Alisa Arthur would score in the 58th minute to bring the Flashes back to life. 26 seconds later, Duquesne would make it 3-1. Arthur would score in the 79th minute to give Kent State a fighting chance. Ultimately, the Dukes scored again 52 seconds later to ultimately ice the game 4-2. Check out Arthur’s second goal here:

Upcoming matches:

9/13 at Kentucky

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Miami (3-1-2)

9/8 at Southern Indiana (W)

Miami traveled to Evansville to take on the Southern Indiana. Neither team would grab the lead until the 28th minute. Makenna Morrison would score to put the Redhawks on top 1-0 (Maris Jennings assist). The Redhawk lead would hold at the halftime break. No more scoring would happen until the 77th minute. Taylor Hamlett would score her sixth goal of the season to ice the game for Miami (Kylee Beinecke assist). Miami would head home with their third win of the season, winning 2-0. Dominique Popa would not have to make a save in the shutout win.

Upcoming matches:

9/12 at Chicago State

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Northern Illinois (4-1-1)

9/5 at Notre Dame (L)
9/9 at Eastern Illinois (W)

NIU would travel to South Bend to take on the Irish. Starting in the ninth minute, Notre Dame scored two goals in 2:14 to quickly go up 2-0. The Irish held the 2-0 lead through the halftime break. In the 66th minute, the Irish would score 2 goals in 5:31 to go up 4-0, and eventually win the match. The Huskies did get seven shots on goal, but Irish goalkeeper Sonoma Kasica stopped all seven. The Huskies would suffer their first loss of the season.

The Huskies then welcomed the Panthers. Tyra King would open the scoring with her fourth goal of the season in the 17th minute (Alyssa Stephenson and Lea Gruennagel assists). 7:27 later, Isabel Struble would extend the lead to 2-0 (Kelsi McLaughlin and King assists). NIU kept that lead at the halftime break. In the 70th minute, King would score her second of the game to ice the game at 3-0 (Struble assist). The Huskies picked up their fourth win. Ari Purifoy made three saves, with Abi Dolding finishing out the game for the combined shutout.

Upcoming matches:

9/12 at Illinois State
9/15 vs Valparaiso

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Ohio (2-1-1)

9/5 vs Marshall (W)

Ohio would welcome the Thundering Herd to Athens. Both teams were evenly matched to start the match, with neither finding an early advantage. The Bobcats would take the lead with 2:34 left in the first half when Lilly O’Rourke would find the back of the net. Ohio lead 1-0 after 45 minutes. In the 65th minute, Eve Berish would double the Bobcats advantage to 2-0. The final whistle sounded with Ohio picking up their third win of the season. Celeste Sloma made five saves on the way to the shutout.

Upcoming matches:

9/12 at Western Kentucky
9/15 vs Oakland

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Toledo (2-3-1)

9/5 at Loyola Chicago (L)
9/8 at Oakland (W)

The Rockets took on the Ramblers. Toledo got on the board when Morgan Spitler would slot home a rebound to go up 1-0. The Ramblers equalized in the 29th minute after Toledo conceded a penalty. The halftime break saw a score of 1-1. Both teams held their ground in the second half, and it looked like it would be a draw. Loyola Chicago would eventually net the game winner with thirteen seconds left in the match. Toledo would drop a heartbreaker, as Agnes Stenlund made four saves on six shots.

Toledo would then travel to take on Oakland. Neither team would score before halftime. This match was headed for a draw. That is, until the 78th minute. Alli Macbeth would put Toledo on top 1-0. Toledo would hold that lead, and walk away with their second win of the season. Stenlund made four saves in the shutout win.

Upcoming matches:

9/15 vs Ohio Dominican

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Western Michigan (3-1-2)

9/8 at Detroit Mercy (W)

The Broncos traveled to take on the Titans. Jen Blitchok would put Western on top with her seventh goal of the season in the 19th minute (Abby Werthman assist). The Broncos held the halftime lead at 1-0. In the 57th minute, Jenna Blackburn would increase the lead to 2-0 (Maya Dean and Werthman assists). Werthman would score 8:17 later to cap off the scoring at 3-0 (Blitchok assist). The Broncos picked up their third win, with Lauren Boafo making one save in the shutout.

Detroit Mercy Athletics

Upcoming matches:

9/15 at DePaul

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MAC Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

• Delaney Caldwell, junior forward, Ball State

The Chelsea, Michigan native notched two goals and three assists to lead the Cardinals to wins against Austin Peay and Queens. The Cardinals outscored their opponents 9-2 on the week

Defensive Players of the Week

• Celeste Sloma, junior goalkeeper, Ohio

Sloma notched her second straight defensive player of the week honor after a five save shutout against Marshall.

• Maya Galko, sophomore defender, Buffalo

The Ottawa, Ontario native earned the honor after helping lead the Bulls to two shutouts against Canisius and Colgate. She is second on the team with three points.

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Goals of the Week

Our first goal of the week goes to Buffalo’s Sarah Woods. The caption gave us a little chuckle too:

Our final goal of the week goes to Ohio’s Lilly O’Rourke. Nothing more satisfying catching a keeper off guard and scoring from distance:

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Moments of the Week

Our moment of the week goes to the Ohio Bobcats. They gave us a great look at the behind the scenes of producing a game!