SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A season that began with a 2-1 exhibition win against Big East member Pittsburgh came to an end Sunday to fellow Big East member Notre Dame.

For most of the game, CMU was outmatched.

The Fighting Irish were faster, stronger and better with the ball. You name it, and Notre Dame was better at it.

However, losing to the No. 5 team in the nation cannot diminish what the Chippewas have accomplished this season.

It is a season in which Central has etched its name in the NCAA record books, from the 13-game shutout streak to becoming the first Mid-American Conference team to go unbeaten in conference play.

But this is just the start.

Throughout the season, the most seniors that started at once was three.

The team loses Stephanie Martin, Amanda Waugh, Kristen Pelkki, Molly Gerst and Kristen Hubright. Each are tough to replace in their own way, but it’s not impossible with the returning talent.

The majority of the starting lineup is back. Defensively, someone will need to step into Pelkki’s role as the top sub off the bench who provides stability to the backline.

But back for the team will be MAC Defensive Player of the Year Shay Mannino and all four backline starters — the same five players who helped shut out No. 24 Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue has been ranked for 11 consecutive weeks and tied for the Big Ten lead in goals with 39. This was not just a shutout against a nameless Big Ten team. This was a quality win for any team in the country, let alone CMU.

Yet with Mannino, Liesel Toth and Bailey Brandon leading the way, CMU kept the Boilermakers off the scoreboard.

Mannino proved the coaches in the Mid-American Conference knew what they were doing in naming her the Defensive Player of the Year.

In the MAC semifinals, finals and the first round of the NCAAs, Mannino stepped her game up to the point where she single-handedly kept the other team off the scoreboard.

Toth and Brandon showed as a sophomore and freshman they should be considered the top combo of central defenders in the MAC.

To top it off, each player demonstrated offensive attitudes at times throughout the later parts of the year, which made each player more dangerous on the field.

In the midfield, the team returns the three most unsung players on this team: Jenna Hill, Valerie Prause and Ashley Mejilla.

Juniors Hill and Prause were consistent players in CMU’s attack and defense throughout the season.

Prause also was the leader in the air in the midfield for the Chippewas. Mejilla pressured other teams as soon as she entered the game.

Finding replacements

Martin and Waugh will be the hardest to replace.

Both were able and willing to attack defenders in one-on-one situations.

Martin also was the only player on the team always willing to take a shot from range and add creativity to Central’s lineup which, at times, ran her into trouble.

This is where players such as Chelsi Abbott and Laura Twidle need to step forward. Each demonstrated, at times, the ability to be first-team All-MAC selections and, at other times, disappeared.

There is no doubt this was a season to remember. But this is just the start of something special.

E-mail the author: Matthew Valinski