CMU’s record shutout streak comes to a close in 1-1 tie

The shutout streak is over for the CMU soccer team at 1,238 minutes and 23 seconds.

However, the unbeaten streak continued to climb to 14 games as the Chippewas tied Eastern Michigan 1-1 Thursday at Sciciuna Field in Ypsilanti.

The 14 games is the second-longest active streak. Stanford (16-0-0) is riding a 16-game unbeaten streak.

CMU (14-3-2, 9-0-2 MAC) became the first Mid-American-Conference team to go through the MAC regular season unbeaten.

EMU junior Sheridan Paige found the back of Central’s net from a little more than 20 yards away after 10 minutes and 57 seconds.

“The first half, we came out and we didn’t want it as bad as them,” said Kristen Pelkki. “After they scored a goal, we got really fired up and played a lot harder and carried that into the second half.”

Pelkki said the team is disappointed the streak ended, but it was really a side note to the team’s goal of a MAC Championship.

“It was going to happen eventually,” she said. “It was really hard to keep that streak going.”

The goal also ended junior Shay Mannino’s personal streak of consecutive shutout minutes at 1,134 minutes and 36 seconds, third all-time in NCAA Division I history.

CMU tied the score off a corner when sophomore Claire Horton scored her first goal of the season a little more than five minutes before halftime.

Senior forward Molly Gerst said Eastern Michigan provided a challenge.

“This was probably the most skillful team we have played,” she said. “A lot of the teams we play in the MAC are just bigger girls than us and big tacklers.”

EMU had 21 shots against CMU, the highest total an opponent shot against Central all season.

MAC Tournament

CMU will play eighth-seeded Western Michigan (6-7-5, 3-4-4) at 2 p.m. Sunday at the CMU Soccer Complex.

WMU dropped to the No. 8 seed after a 0-0 tie with Northern Illinois, combined with a Kent State 2-0 victory over Buffalo, which moved the Golden Flashes up a spot to the seventh seed.

The Chippewas defeated the Broncos 1-0 on Oct. 18 in Kalamazoo.

Sophomore Chelsi Abbott scored the game-winner in that game after junior Valerie Prause headed a throw-in from freshman Bailey Brandon to Abbott.

Pelkki said she expects Western to come out strong and physical.

“It is a rivalry, so it is a pretty intense game,” she said. “It’s a physical, real intense game. I’m expecting a good game.”

Gerst said although Western is Central’s rival, the team just needs to focus on the game and not let the rivalry get the best of them.

“The rivalry is always something to think about,” she said. “But we are just going to look at it as another game and win the first half and then the second half.”

Since winning two of their first three MAC games, the Broncos have struggled to win, going 1-3-4 in their last eight games.

Central has not lost to Western Michigan in Mount Pleasant since 2000, and has a 4-2 home record against the Broncos all-time.