OXFORD, Ohio – Following a split on the road last weekend, Miami soccer makes a quick stop at home before beginning another long road stretch this week.
The RedHawks host Western Michigan at Bobby Kramig Field at 4 p.m. before starting a three-match road stretch at Northern Illinois on Sunday at 3 p.m. Thursday's contest is part of Miami's Stomp Out Bullying campaign as the RedHawks will wear blue laces in their cleats and fans are encouraged to do the same, preferably in flat shoes.
Miami is 2-2 through the first two weekends of Mid-American Conference play and sits 3-8 overall.
Olivia Winnett netted her second game-winning goal of the season in last Friday's 1-0 win at Buffalo and currently leads the team with three goals overall.
Izzie Vaccari posted a nine-save shutout in the win at Buffalo, the first of her Miami career. On the season, she holds a 1.11 goals against average with an .853 save percentage.
Western Michigan is off to a 2-1-1 start to MAC play and has a 4-6-1 overall mark. The Broncos are averaging 1.27 goals per match and are led offensively by Morgan Otteson's 15 points (6g, 3a) while Bailey Korhorn also has double digit points with 11 (4g, 3a). In net, Maggie Rogers has started 10 of 11 contests and has three solo shutouts to go with a 1.61 goals against average and .792 save percentage.
Northern Illinois enters the week on a five-match losing streak and is 0-4 in MAC play. The Huskies have been outscored 24-10 this season with Megan Donnally (1.96 GAA, .778 SV%) getting most of the action in goal. NIU's leading scorer, Trudy Quidzinski, has four goals and nine points.
Live stats will be available for Thursday's tilt while a live stream and live stats will be provided by NIUHuskies.com on Sunday.
Free Kicks
All-Time Series: Miami is 15-8-2 all-time against Western Michigan and 16-5-3 against Northern Illinois. MU has dropped its last three matches against WMU, falling 2-1 in double overtime last year. The RedHawks blanked the Huskies, 4-0, in last year's meeting.
Looking for Faster Starts: While Miami has found itself in 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 11 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 11 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 19 of their 23 players being freshmen or sophomores. Of the 15 Miami players to see the pitch in at least seven of the team's 11 contests, 12 are freshmen or sophomores. Even so, four of the team's seven 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.
