MOUNT PLEASANT — Neither rain, cold or mud could stand in the way of the Central Michigan women’s soccer team as it clinched its first regular season Mid-American Conference championship in school history with a 1-0 win over Bowling Green at the CMU Soccer Complex on Friday.
Chelsi Abbott scored for the fourth straight match and the Chippewas (14-3, 9-0 Mid-American) won for the 12th time in a row, all via shutout. The 12 straight shutouts are tied for the third most in NCAA history. Only Santa Clara (16 in 1998) and North Carolina (13 in 1989) have posted more consecutive shutouts. CMU has not yielded a goal in 1117:26.
“We’re smiling right now,” head coach
Tom Anagnost said. “I am really proud of the women and what they have been able to accomplish. It’s been a great year so far, but our women will tell you that we will strive for more.”
The rainy weather and slick field conditions made for a sloppy match as neither team was able to spend much time on the attack.
“The women dealt with the elements well even though the conditions were horrendous to play in,” Anagnost said. “I feel that we had the ball a little more throughout the match. We played a good game considering the circumstances.”
That all changed in the 24th minute when
Stephanie Martin’s centering pass found
Chelsi Abbott, who one-timed the ball into the goal to give the Maroon and Gold a 1-0 lead. The Chippewas maintained the one-goal bulge at halftime and outshot the Falcons, 7-1, while owning a 3-0 edge in corner kicks in the opening frame.
“There was no soccer being played in the middle of the field due to the wet conditions,” Anagnost said. “We got the ball wide and made a play. That was a great finish by Chelsi and a great ball by Stephanie.”
The rain further deteriorated the field in the second half and at times the ball literally stopped in puddles of water. The Chippewas took the only shot and corner kick of the final 45 minutes.
Central outshot Bowling Green, 8-1, while holding a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks for the match. The one shot is the fewest CMU has allowed since Aug. 27, 2000 against Valparaiso.
The contest was physical throughout as CMU was called for 22 fouls while BG got whistled for 20.
Shay Mannino got the call between the pipes and turned aside the only shot that came her way for her 12th shutout this season and the 24th clean sheet of her career. Mannino has a personal shutout streak of 1013:39, the fourth-longest streak in NCAA history.
With the victory, the Chippewas are in position to host the MAC Tournament from the semifinals on if they win their quarterfinal match on Nov. 1.
CMU returns to the pitch on Sunday when it hosts Toledo at 1 p.m.
Courtesy: Robert Barclay/CMU
