OXFORD, Ohio – Needing points down the stretch, Miami soccer hopes to get some home cooking started as it begins a three-match home stand this week.
The RedHawks' (3-11-1, 2-5-1 Mid-American) home stretch begins on Thursday when they host Ohio at 4 p.m. On Sunday, Miami will honor seniors
Reagan Fleck and
Olivia Winnett for Senior Day prior to its 1 p.m. kickoff against Kent State. Additionally, Thursday's tilt with Ohio is the RedHawks' It's On Us contest as representatives from the campus group dedicated to preventing sexual violence will be at the match encouraging fans to sign their pledge.
After getting blanked by Bowling Green and Toledo on the road last weekend, Miami finds itself in a tie for 10th in the MAC standings with seven points, three back of eighth-place Akron, who also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over MU. Winnett's three goals still lead the RedHawks while
Izzie Vaccari's 97 total saves lead the MAC while her 6.93 saves per game and .843 save percentage are second and third in the league, respectively.
The Bobcats picked up two victories over the weekend to move to a tie for fifth place in the MAC standings at 4-3-1 (9-6-1 overall). Alivia Milesky's seven goals and 19 points rank fourth in the MAC while Abby Townsend has handed out a conference-best eight assists to build up her 14-point scoring total. Maddie Young (12 points) has also reached double digit points for OU. Sydney Mallham has logged most of the time in net and has a 1.51 goals against average with a .738 save percentage.
At 3-3-2 in MAC play and 5-7-3 overall, the Golden Flashes are seventh in the MAC standings with 11 points, most recently earning a point via a 1-1 tie against Central Michigan on Sunday. Three KSU players have registered double-digit points, paced by Vital Kats' MAC-leading 21 on eight goals and five assists.
Live stats will be available for both matches this weekend on MiamiRedHawks.com.
Free Kicks
All-Time Series: Miami is 14-10-2 all-time against Ohio and holds a 12-9-3 lead in the all-time series with Kent State. MU fell on the road to both last season, dropping a 1-0 decision at OU and a 4-1 tilt at KSU.
Looking for Faster Starts: While Miami has found itself close in matches in the second half, it would like to get off to better starts all the same. The RedHawks have scored just once in the first half this season and only netted the first goal twice in their first 15 matches.
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 15 contests. The Sept. 27 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 19 of their 22 players being freshmen or sophomores. Of the 15 Miami players to see the pitch in at least 11 of the team's 15 contests, 12 are freshmen or sophomores. Even so, four of the team's eight goals have come from upper classmen with senior
Olivia Winnett striking three times 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.
