Soccer earns first win of season at Youngstown State
Freshman goalkeeper Zoie Reed boots the ball in an exhibition game Aug. 13 against Michigan State at Bennett Field.
Continuing its streak of road games to begin the season, Central Michigan University’s soccer team claimed its first victory Friday evening against Youngstown State.
After the 2-0 effort CMU’s record improves to 1-2-1.
Head Coach Peter McGahey said the win was not easy to come by, given the lack of familiarity between the two teams and the less-than-spectacular field conditions.
“Sometimes when you travel, you’re playing an opponent that you’ve never played before,” McGahey said. “I thought (the field) was a little bit choppy, we had a little bit of a hard time finding our rhythm. Overall I thought we responded to what the game gave us.”
The Chippewas were in control of the game from the opening kickoff, maintaining possession of the ball and creating a plethora of scoring chances.
CMU fired 14 total shots against the Penguins, seven of which were on target and two found the back of the net.
Freshman forward Madison Costner initiated the scoring shortly before halftime in the 45th minute. The Dublin, Ohio native deflected the ball off her head from a corner kick.
“Madison’s goal right before halftime was really important,” McGahey said. “It’s always a big momentum shift to score a goal and particularly before the break.”
In total, CMU had five corner kicks.
In the 87th minute, the Chippewas pushed across the goal that would put Youngstown State away for good on a goal scored by sophomore defender Lauren Sherry.
It was Sherry’s second goal of the season.
Making her third start of the season in the net was freshman Zoie Reed. The victory was Reed’s first of her collegiate career. She made four saves and faced five shots in the win.
CMU will play another game on the road before returning to Mount Pleasant for its first home match of the regular season against DePaul University on Sept. 13.
The Chippewas will take on the University of Michigan at 7:30 p.m. Thursday from the U-M Soccer Stadium.
