OXFORD, Ohio – Following a split home weekend to start Mid-American Conference play, the Miami soccer team is about to get tested on the road beginning this weekend.

The RedHawks (2-7, 1-1 MAC) head to Buffalo and Akron on Friday and Sunday, respectively, this weekend, starting a stretch where they play five of their next six contests on the road.

MU began league action with a 3-1 victory over Eastern Michigan last Friday as Lyda Bogdanovitch, Olivia Winnett and Soph Spinell found the net to give the Red & White a season-high scoring total. Izzie Vaccari made those markers stand up on the strength of her 14 saves. Miami nearly picked up a point against unbeaten Central Michigan on Sunday as Vaccari and the defense held CMU scoreless deep into double overtime before eventually falling 1-0. Vaccari's 48 saves are the second most in the MAC while her .842 save percentage is third among league keepers.

Buffalo went on the road and split its MAC tilts over the weekend, topping Toledo 2-0 before falling 2-1 at defending MAC champion Bowling Green. UB sits 4-4-1 overall on the season. UB is third in the league in both scoring (1.56 goals per match) and goals allowed (1.00 per match). Marcy Barberic leads the Bulls with three goals and seven points as 11 different players have scored at least one goal for UB this year. Emily Kelly has started all nine contests in net and has a pair of solo shutouts along with a 1.00 goals against average and an .809 save percentage.

Akron is 4-6 overall and also came away with an opening MAC weekend split, falling 1-0 to Bowling Green and topping Toledo 2-0. Ashley Amato's three goals lead the Zips while Libby Harper has started seven contests and sports a 0.94 goals against average with a .682 save percentage and a pair of solo shutouts.

Live stats and streaming video will be available for both contests this weekend.

Free Kicks

All-Time Series: Miami is 15-6-2 all-time against Buffalo and 11-7-3 against Akron. However, MU dropped one-goal decisions to both last season at home, falling 1-0 to UB and 2-1 to UA. Buffalo has taken four of the past five meetings while Akron has won two in a row in the series.

Tight Late: While the results haven't quite been there to this point, Miami has found itself in every match well into the second half of contests. The RedHawks have entered within a goal in all nine contests. The MAC opener against Eastern Michigan also saw Miami lead at halftime for the first time.

Youth Will Be Served: The RedHawks boast an incredibly young roster with 20 of their 24 players being freshmen or sophomores. Of the 15 Miami players to see the pitch in at least seven of the team's nine contests, 12 are freshmen or sophomores. Even so, three of the team's six goals have come from upper classmen with senior Olivia Winnett striking twice and Soph Spinell scoring once.

Keeping it Close: Miami's non-conference schedule was not only confined entirely to the Ohio Valley, it was nearly entirely in the Buckeye State itself. Five of MU's seven non-conference tilts came against in-state foes (Dayton, Wright State, Cleveland State, Ohio State and Xavier) while its other two (Morehead State and Kentucky) were within 150 miles of Oxford.

What's for the Encore: At 11 players (not including transfer Izzie Vaccari), Miami's sophomore class is its largest group on the roster. The bulk of them saw extensive playing time as freshmen, combining for 30 points, 113 matches played and 89 starts among the returning sophomores. The three top minute getters for the Red & White last year were freshmen.