Courtesy: Robert Barclay/CMU Erin Dye rips a shot against Missouri State on Sunday. The freshman scored two of CMU's three goals as the Chippewas won, 3-1, on senior day.

MOUNT PLEASANT — Erin Dye scored two goals and the Central Michigan defense was solid again in a 3-1 win over Missouri State on senior day at the CMU Field Hockey Complex.

The win is the Chippewas’ (7-12, 4-6 Mid-American) third straight entering next week’s MAC Tournament in Muncie, Ind., where CMU will be the fourth seed.

“It was nice to get a win today and keep the streak going,” head coach Cristy Freese said. “You always want to be on a roll come tournament time and this is going to be a tough tournament next week.”

Missouri State drew first blood in the 24th minute when Alyssa Hile tapped in a pass by Melissa Lantz to put the Bears up, 1-0.

The Maroon and Gold answered 3:14 later when Dye redirected Brooke Sihota’s shot off a penalty corner for her third goal of the season. The first half ended with both teams tied at one apiece.

Dye gave Central its first lead just 1:11 into the second half, when she collected a loose ball off Paulina Lee’s stick and put a well-placed shot into the net for her second tally of the afternoon.

“Erin played a very strong game today,” Freese said. “She was aggressive with her shot and it paid off for her”

Kelly Jordan gave the Chippewas a two-goal lead with her 11th goal of the year in the 53rd minute when she fired a hard shot from the left side off a penalty corner to make it a 3-1 contest.

Neither team generated many scoring opportunities as CMU outshot MSU, 8-6, in Sunday’s contest. Missouri State held a 5-4 advantage in penalty corners.

Kahla Schwall made her first start of the season in net and clocked 28:59 between the pipes before giving way to Melinda Curran, who stopped both shots she faced.

Central faces host Ball State in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.