Momentum snapped with 3-2 home defeat
Lynn WloszekStacy Downing’s two goals weren’t enough for the Chippewas to defeat Marshall Sunday.
The loss along with a 2-1 overtime win against Ohio Friday, brought the soccer team’s record to 6-5-2 overall and 4-4-1 in the MAC.
The Thundering Herd took a two-goal lead before the half and scored the game-winner with under two minutes remaining for the 3-2 win Sunday.
“We made two bad mistakes in the first half and there were too many moments where little things make the difference and a lot of our players didn’t understand that every moment counts,” said coach Mark Salisbury.
Central had numerous scoring chances, outshooting Marshall 22-11. They had two quality chances to take the lead in the second half, but Marshall goalkeeper Ashleigh Woods kept the game tied.
Laura Roberts had a scoring opportunity with six minutes remaining with shot toward the upper right corner of the net. Woods dove and knocked the ball out of play.
“We created a lot of chances and did a lot of what we talked about doing in the first half, but we just didn’t finish those chances,” Salisbury said.
The team showed its resiliency by coming back, but Salisbury said it should have never gotten to that point.
Marshall came into the game with only six goals on the season, which is a MAC low, but were the agressors early on.
“We gave them their momentum and gave them their energy,” Salisbury said.
Central began the weekend with a 2-1 overtime win against Ohio Friday.
Three minutes into the second half, sophomore Ashleigh Burke scored her first career goal to tie the game.
Burke had an opportunity to win the game in overtime, but lost control of the ball in front of the net. The ball rolled out to teammate Cari VanDyck, who scored and improved the Chippewas to 4-0-2 in overtime games.
“(Ashleigh) played a great game,” Salisbury said. “She has been working really hard and really deserved this.”
Central fell behind early as has been the case all season, and were bailed out on numerous occasions by freshman goalkeeper Anne Decker, who finished the game with six saves.
“We realized that after the first half we knew that we could compete with them and that we were a better team than they were,” VanDyck said. “We just had to pick it up and battle.”
Central is back in the middle of the pack with three games remaining.
“We are running out of time to correct a lot, if players don’t figure out that it’s on, to step up in the pressure, then it’s too late,” Salisbury said.
