COLUMN: Women’s soccer carries hot streak into MAC Tournament

Since Oct. 5, the Central Michigan women’s soccer team has a record of 7-1 and have decimated its opponents by outscoring them 17-3 during the eight-game stretch.

The one loss came to Mid-American Conference No. 1 seed Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 19 in a 1-0 hard-fought double-overtime match. Needless to say, the team has a spark going, and it doesn’t seem to be fizzing out any time soon.

After the Chippewas suffered the tough loss to Miami (Ohio), the team came back stronger than ever, shutting out the next three teams and outscoring them 8-0. This, however, is not the only time the Chippewas have come back, despite adversity.

Earlier in the season, in a match against Northern Illinois on Oct. 7, senior defender Katie Slaughter was given a red card 25 minutes into the match with the score tied at zero. Not only did the Chippewas win the game 2-1 in double overtime, but they also managed to out-shoot NIU in the match as well, while playing a man down.

Luckily, there has been little adversity to face since they have a solid record of 14-5-1 overall during the season, but, when adversity has risen, the Chippewas have risen above it.

With a senior class that has the most wins in program history, it might make it a little easier to beat that adversity. The senior experience on the team gives the Chippewas a mental edge, with plenty of post-season play under their belt.

The Chippewas plan to keep this momentum and mental edge going into the semifinals of the tournament against No. 6 seed Toledo today at 2 p.m. The last time these two teams faced off in the tournament was in 2009, when the Chippewas won 4-2 in penalty kicks to advance to the championship game.