Oct. 21, 2005
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - Led by the foot of junior leading scorer Kathleen Vistica (Monrovia, Md./Urbana) and the relentless effort of their defensive corps, the Miami University women's soccer team (7-7-0, 5-4-0 MAC) moved one step closer to clinching a berth in the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon with their 1-0 win over the conference-leading Western Michigan Broncos (9-6-1, 7-2-0 MAC).
Vistica tallied her sixth goal of the season at 79:27 off an assist from sophomore Lindy Slinger (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), while Miami's defense notched its fifth shutout of the season by holding the Broncos scoreless. Western Michigan had led the MAC during conference play in both goals (15) and points per game (5.75) prior to today's contest, but the RedHawks, led by senior defender Lindsay Dunmead (Plymouth, Mich./Northville) and the goalkeeping tandem of senior Leigh Terry (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) and sophomore Shannon Chew (Mason, Ohio/Mason), limited the Broncos to seven shots on goal.
Playing on a rain-soaked field which had seen heavy showers over the last 24 hours, both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the first half as they had to adjust to the wet field conditions. Miami failed to put a shot on goal in the first 45 minutes while Western Michigan's best scoring opportunity came in the 9th minute when a booming Chantal Robinson kick from nearly 25 yards out sailed just over the crossbar.
Miami posted all four of its shots after intermission while three second-half saves by Chew helped keep the game scoreless. Western Michigan nearly ended the 0-0 deadlock at the 69:58 mark when Mandi Marsh juked a defender in the box and fired a shot destined for the top corner, but a diving save from Chew kept the Broncos off the scoreboard.
The RedHawks control their own postseason fate heading into Sunday's game with Northern Illinois as their win moved them one game above .500 in conference play with two games remaining. Miami looks to wrap up their sixth appearance in the MAC Tournament in the past seven seasons when they face the ninth-place Huskies at 1 p.m. at Miami Soccer Field.
