Pair of key home games on deck
Lynn WloszekSenior defender Katie Conway returns to action when the soccer team plays its last two home games of the season this weekend.
Conway, one of the team’s captains, will play against conference opponents Ohio and Marshall.
She injured her right knee in a collision three weeks ago against Toledo.
“It’s huge to have her back,” coach Mark Salisbury said. “Her voice, her play, her passion for the game, all those things are tremendously important.”
Even with Conway out of the line-up the team has held its opponents to 10 goals, second fewest in the MAC.
Much of that success is because of freshman goalkeeper Anne Decker. She has three shutouts on the season and has a save percentage of .854, second in the conference.
Central (5-4-2, 3-3-1 in the MAC) split a pair of games last weekend.
The team beat Illinois State in a non-conference game 1-0 and lost to Eastern Michigan 1-0. Conway said in both games the team came out flat, and that problem must be corrected as the MAC season comes to a close.
“These games are as important as ever,” Conway said. “Every game counts. It’s do or die now.”
Central’s leading scorers are a pair of sophomores, Rachel Snyder and Stacy Downing, with four goals each. Downing has a team-high 11 points.
Ohio was the preseason favorite to win the conference and is trying to separate itself from the middle of the pack. The Bobcats are led by Tiffany Horvath, who has six goals and 13 points.
The Chippewas play Marshall on Sunday in their final home game. The Thundering Herd has only one win, a conference win against Northern Illinois. Goalkeeper Ashleigh Woods, who leads the MAC in saves, returns to action this weekend after being out three weeks with a broken finger.
CMU knows it cannot underestimate either of its opponents.
“Every game right now is very important,” Salisbury said. “We have had a couple really good days of practice, and our team understands what needs to get done.”
The team finds itself in the middle of a competitive conference, with six spots separated by only four points. The top eight teams in the conference make the tournament and no team has pulled away as the clear-cut favorite.
“We have the potential to (win the MAC) this year,” Conway said. “Our leaders and coaches are in place, and we are a lot more solid of a unit then we ever were before.”
