Oct. 22, 2002
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REDHAWKS OUT TO PROVE THEY AREN'T FINISHED: Although the Mid-American Conference crown is locked, Miami has plenty to play for when it hosts Wright State on Friday at 3 p.m. and Marshall at 1 p.m. on Sunday. If Miami is able to knock off the Raiders, the RedHawks will be 14-2-1 and break the best start in Miami history set in 1999 when the RedHawks went 14-3-0. With a win over Marshall, Miami will break Ohio Universities mark for most wins in MAC history by any team with 11.
Wright State enters Oxford looking for its second consecutive win over a MAC opponent. Wright State, which is currently on a 10-day layoff, knocked off Kent State, 2-0 on Oct. 15, thanks to Kim Chianese's team-leading 10th goal. The Raiders, 5-6-3 overall, are the second Horizon League foe that Miami plays in a two-week period. The RedHawks beat Butler 1-0 in overtime on Oct. 11. Miami leads the series 3-1-0 including two consecutive victories.
The Thundering Herd enters the weekend in a four-way tie for the last two spots in the MAC tournament. Kent State, Toledo, Buffalo and Marshall all have 11 points entering the final weekend. Marshall, who boasts a 6-6-2 overall record and 3-4-2 MAC mark, hopes to make a return trip to Miami next weekend as it fights for the last MAC Tournament berth. Marshall is led by freshman Ashley Shillig who has totaled eight goals and three assists on the season. Miami has won the last two meetings between the two schools to tie the all-time series at two apiece.
A LOOK BACK: With a 3-1 win at Northern Illinois last Friday, the Miami soccer team clinched its first Mid-American Conference regular-season title and will enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed. The RedHawks claimed their 10th MAC win at Western Michigan in a 3-1 triumph on Sunday to equal the most single-season league wins in MAC history. Senior forward Andrea Cunningham scored the first goal and the game-winner and also added an assist on a goal by senior forward Danielle Berkemeier against the Huskies. Berkemeier scored two goals against Western Michigan to give her three goals on the weekend.
MAC RECORD: In Mid-American Conference history, no team has won 11 conference games. Miami's 10 wins tie the 2001 Ohio Bobcats for most conference wins in a season. Ohio went 10-2 during their 2001 season. The RedHawks .909 conference winning percentage is currently the highest in MAC history after eleven games. If the RedHawks can knock off the Thundering Herd, they will tie the 1997 Northern Illinois squad, 1998 Ohio and Northern Illinois squads, and the 1999 Eastern Michigan squad with only one loss at the end of the conference season. None of the four teams accumulate 10 wins because the league did not have 12 MAC women's soccer schools until last season.
QUICK START: The RedHawks are off to their best start in Mid-American Conference play history with a 10-1-0 mark. Until this year, Miami's best MAC start came when they started 8-2-1 after 11 MAC games last year. In 1999, the RedHawks went 8-3-0 through the first 11 MAC games. The Red and White are a half-game behind their best all-time start with a 13-2-1 record. In 1999, Miami went 14-2-0 during its first 16 games. If Miami is able to defeat Wright State on Friday, the RedHawks would eclipse the 14-3-0 mark set in 1999 for the best record through 17 games with a 14-2-1 mark.
HOME SWEET HOME: Miami has proven the definition of home-field advantage by going 27-6-2 at home since the beginning of 1999. Miami has posted a 34-16-4 record in its six-year history. The RedHawks excelled at home in 2001 with a 5-2-1 mark. The pinnacle of its home success came in 1999 when Miami went 9-0-0 at Miami Soccer Field.
MOVIN' ON UP: After a 10th-place rating during last week's Great Lakes Region polls by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and Soccerbuzz.com, the RedHawks kept the momentum going by moving higher in the polls. The RedHawks found themselves rated ninth by the NSCAA and eighth by Soccerbuzz.com in this week's poll.
This is the first time in school history that the RedHawks have had their name on five consecutive polls. The RedHawks were receiving votes the three weeks before their 10th-place rating last week.
Miami ended the season last year with its highest rating in school history, seventh place in the Soccerbuzz.com Great Lakes Region.
TWO OF A KIND: Senior Andrea Cunningham took over the MAC all-time point lead with her two goals and an assist on Friday at Northern Illinois, only to be passed again by Danielle Berkemeier. Berkemeier scored a goal on Friday to stay one point behind Cunningham and then scored two goals on Sunday against Western Michigan to open a three-point lead. Cunningham has 128 all-time points while Berkemeier carries 131 career points.
Cunningham surpassed former Buffalo standout Paula Listrani as the MAC's career scoring leader on a second-half goal versus Buffalo on Nov. 6, 2001.
Berkemeier passed Listrani's 105 all-time points with a game-winning goal versus Georgia Southern on Sept. 8, 2002, to win the inaugural Miami/Adidas Invitational.
Berkemeier and Cunningham are the only players in Miami soccer history (men's or women's), and second and third in MAC women's soccer history, to surpass the century mark for career points.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Danielle Berkemeier was honored as the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week after scoring three goals over the weekend and helping the RedHawk team clinch its first MAC regular-season championship in program history.
The senior forward leads the RedHawk team with 27 points.
After scoring six points over the weekend, Berkemeier reclaimed the lead on the MAC all-time point list from teammate Andrea Cunningham with 131 points. Berkemeier currently stands one goal behind Cunningham in the MAC for all-time career goals with 53, and fourth in the MAC for all-time career assists with 25.
HOT KEEPER: Freshman goalkeeper Leigh Terry went 349 minutes without allowing a goal until Northern Illinois freshman Chanelle Crosby scored in the 81st minute for Northern Illinois on Friday. Terry's scoreless streak is the longest streak set by a single goalkeeper in Miami history. It was the second longest scoreless streak that Miami has amassed during the 2002 campaign.
The longest shutout and scoreless streak Miami holds ended at five games and 554 minutes when Ohio's Rachael Najjar scored in the 49th minute on Sept. 27 of this year. The streak included five straight shutouts that dated back to Sept. 6th when the RedHawks gave up a goal in the 54th minute against St. John's. Senior Katie Karlander, junior Emily Smith, and Terry combined to set the all-time scoreless minute streak.
Miami has shut out eight of its last 13 opponents and allowed only eight goals during that time period.
The 554 minutes of scoreless play broke a Miami record that dated back to the RedHawks' 2000 MAC Tournament Championship run in which they posted 317 scoreless minutes. The streak included victories over Ohio, Buffalo, and a double-overtime win over Bowling Green.
The RedHawks' eight shutouts on the 2002 season surpasses their season totals in 1999 and 2000, and is second to the nine shutouts the Miami goalkeepers recorded last year.
REDHAWK PROMOTIONS: Halftime of every home game offers one randomly drawn Miami student the chance to kick a goal into an open spot on a blocked net to earn $10,000. Fans will also have a chance to catch mini Adidas soccer balls, which will be thrown into the crowd after every RedHawk goal scored at the Miami Soccer Field. In addition, the RedHawk soccer team will hold a different giveaway promotion for every home game throughout the 2002 season.
Oct. 25, Wright State Girls and Sports Day (In conjunction with Miami Volleyball game at 7 p.m. Girls receive free beaded Miami soccer necklace)
Oct. 27, Marshall Fan Appreciation Day (Assorted Miami give aways)
Oct. 31, Purdue Trick or Treat with the RedHawks (Wear your Halloween costume and receive candy from the Miami and Purdue players after the game)
The Miami Soccer Team is sponsored by Moonshine Printing.
REDHAWKS FIGHTING CANCER: The Miami women's soccer has teamed up with the Greater Cincinnati Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to combat the most common form of cancer among women. For every home goal Miami scores during its 2002 season, the women's soccer program will donate $20 to the foundation.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Research Program is regarded as one of the most innovative and responsive grant programs in breast cancer today. As a pioneer in the funding of ground-breaking breast cancer research, the Komen Foundation is often the only source of funding for cutting-edge breast cancer research, much of which has led to landmark discoveries in the quest to find a cure for and eventually prevent breast cancer.
A representative of the Cincinnati affiliate will be on hand for Miami's Oct. 31 match with Purdue to take part in a special donation ceremony.
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