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Nov. 6, 2001
OXFORD, Ohio.-Powered by a stellar defensive effort and a team-record seven second-half goals, Miami University's women's soccer team cruised to the most lopsided win in Mid-American Conference Tournament history Tuesday afternoon at Miami Soccer Field, defeating sixth-seeded University at Buffalo 7-0 in the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament.
With the win, Miami, which improved to 12-6-1 on the season, advanced to the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament for the third consecutive season. Miami, which has never lost a MAC Tournament match, travels to Ohio University, the host of this season's MAC Championship, this Friday to face second-seeded Eastern Michigan University. Buffalo concluded its season at 9-9-0 with the loss.
"Buffalo is a far better team than the scoreboard showed," Head Coach Bobby Kramig said. "I think they just got discouraged. You really have to give our girls a lot of credit. We were prepared for this match and completely focused on what we had to do. It was a great effort."
Following a scoreless first half, in which Miami outshot the Bulls 12-3 and narrowly missed several scoring opportunities, the RedHawks were quick to seize the advantage in the second half. Danielle Altiero (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Danielle Berkemeier (Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield) hooked up on the eventual game-winner when Altiero found Berkemeier wide open in front of the goal with a perfectly-placed pass. Altiero also instigated Miami's second goal, sending a free kick from just outside the Buffalo penalty box into traffic, where Katie Mach (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) was able to convert her first collegiate goal.
From there, freshman Ashley Swinehart (Worthington, Ohio/Worthington) took over, delivering two unassisted goals and assisting on goals by Andrea Cunningham (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) and Brooke Paul (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart)-all in a 30-minute span in the second half. Shaedyn Cousino (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) added Miami's remaining goal with a header off an Altiero serve. Altiero's three assists on the day tied a Miami record.
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Along with the monumental win, Cunningham, a junior, notched a monumental achievement in becoming the MAC's all-time career scoring leader with 106 career points. Cunningham's goal at 83:28 moved her past former University at Buffalo standout Paula Listrani and was her MAC-leading 15th of the season.
Despite the overwhelming offensive effort, Kramig was quick to point out that the team's defensive effort, which resulted in Miami's fifth consecutive shutout in a MAC Tournament match, was the key.
"Scoring seven goals was great," Kramig said. "But with the way our defense played today, we could have won with one. Defense wins championships, and that's becoming the trademark of this team in the MAC Tournament. Now we just have to string two more together."
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