Brian Manzullo

The women’s soccer team’s four-match homestand is over and now must take its perfect Mid-American Conference record on the road.

The Chippewas play Kent State at 3 p.m. today before traveling to Buffalo, N.Y., for a 1 p.m. Sunday match against the Bulls.

CMU is coming off a home stand that saw it open conference play with four consecutive wins while not allowing a single goal.

But the team is not worried about going on the road after the success it had at home.

“I’d say focused is more the right word,” said assistant coach and acting head coach Tom Anagnost. “We’ve been on the road a lot (during the non-conference) – every match presents a challenge.”

Junior forward Amanda Waugh said she is not looking at the match any differently.

“I think no matter what game it is, we approach it the same way,” she said. “We’re not focused on whether its home or away.”

One of the challenging aspects of Friday’s match is playing on Kent State’s field, which Anagnost said is about 15 yards narrower that the average field.

“Kent State has a flip thrower and a long thrower,” he said. “And they have a big team.”

KSU (5-6 overall, 2-2 MAC) is 2-0 in home conference matches, with its field giving it an advantage as the team scored four goals in each match.

“It’s going to cause the ball to go out of bounds more,” Anagnost said. “And they’re going to have more opportunities to heave-ho the ball in.”

He said the toughest aspect of the match is winning the battle in both boxes.

“We have to have a strong box presence and win the balls in the air and make sure we finish the chances we get,” Waugh said.

Anagnost said Friday is the toughest test for the Chippewas so far this season.

The first-place Chippewas (9-2, 4-0 MAC) finish their road weekend against Buffalo (4-5-2, 0-4 MAC), the conference’s last place team.

But Anagnost said CMU must not rest on its laurels now that the team is not at the top of the conference. He said it must stay hungry and focus on each day.

Although BU has not won a match since Sept. 5, the Bulls do boast Lindsey Bailey, who is tied for third in the MAC with six goals.

Waugh Honored

Junior forward Amanda Waugh was selected as the Mid-American Conference’s player of the week, based on her play last weekend against Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.

It was the first time Waugh received the distinction.

Waugh netted a match-winning goal in Sunday’s 1-0 win against Western. She broke a scoreless tie in the 88th minute.

She also added a goal and an assist in Friday’s 2-0 win against NIU.

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E-mail the author: Dave Jones