MAC soccer tournament team breakdown

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With the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference beginning today in Toledo, Ohio, staff reporter John Manzo breaks down the three remaining teams:

No. 1 Toledo (15-3-2)

The Rockets will play No. 5 Western Michigan at 1 p.m. today. The winner will then play the CMU-Miami winner in the Mid-American Conference Championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Junior forward Kristen Lynn and senior forward Brittany Hensler lead UT in scoring with seven goals each. The senior class has won two MAC championships and seeks its third in four years. It also set a school record with 55 career wins.

The Rockets’ match against Western Michigan is a battle of two teams with similar statistics offensively. Both UT and WMU are second with 35 goals and third with 297 shots. The Rockets rank third in points and fourth in assists.

Junior goalkeeper Vicki Traven ranks fourth in goals against average (0.78). She started and played in 19 of the 20 games. She also leads the MAC with 10 shutouts.

Toledo handed CMU its only regular season MAC loss in the past two seasons.

No. 2 Miami (13-6-2)

The RedHawks used its offense to pace itself away to winning the MAC East.

Miami’s conference-leading 53 goals topped No. 5 seed Western Michigan and Toledo’s total by 18.

Sophomore forward Jess Kodiak is the catalyst of the RedHawks offense. She leads the team with eight goals and as many assists.

It will play No. 3 Central Michigan at 11 a.m. today in a rematch of last year’s conference championship game. CMU defeated it 1-0 to advance to the NCAA tournament.

The RedHawks have rotated goalkeepers in-and-out throughout the season, with three receiving significant playing time.

Freshman goalkeeper Kris Gasparovic started and played in 10 games, earning a team-best .848 save percentage. Senior goalkeeper Rachelle Boff started and played six games with a 5-1-0 record.

The third goalkeeper is freshman Madison Ryan. Expect her to start as she has in the past three games, including the first round win against No. 7 Akron.

No. 5 Western Michigan (9-6-5)

It took penalty kicks for the Broncos to upset No. 4 Eastern Michigan on Sunday in the first round of the MAC tournament. They advance to play top seed Toledo at 2 p.m. today.

Junior forward Stephanie Skowneski leads the way for the Broncos, as her nine goals is tied for first in the conference.

They will be without captain and senior defender Ashley Caliendo, who sustained a season-ending injury against CMU on Oct. 15.

Senior goalkeeper Julia Francy is third in the conference in goals against average (0.70) behind both CMU goalkeepers senior Shay Mannino and sophomore Stefanie Turner.