After getting their first winning streak of the season going, the Falcons will look to continue their success this weekend against Valparaiso and Toledo.
This afternoon, the Falcons will travel to Valparaiso and take on the Crusaders, who have yet to win a game this year with a record of 0-7. However, they have only lost a game by more than two goals once this year and are a team that coach Andy Richards knows his team cannot overlook.
“We know a little about them since we played them last year, but we expect them to be a competitive team and they’ll be hungry for a win,” Richards said.
Last season these two teams met at Cochrane Field with the Falcons getting a 3-0 win. On Sunday afternoon, the Falcons will then host arch rival Toledo in a big Mid-American Conference game at Cochrane Field. The Falcons lead the all time series, but have yet to beat the Rockets at home.
The Rockets will come in with a record of 3-5 on the year and a MAC record of 2-2. Their top scorer on the year with five goals is Melissa Lesage and their goalkeeper Molly Patterson has won two of her last three starts for the Rockets.
“This will be a big MAC game for us and it always has a little extra spice to it since they are our rivals,” Richards said. “They are a very competitive team and very workmen like, so we know we’ll have to continue our good play to win.”
Last weekend, the Falcons were able to sweep their two weekend opponents and get their first MAC win against Akron. The team is injury free for the first time all season and has themselves in position to make a run at postseason play here now at the halfway point of the season with a MAC record of 1-1-1.
The top scorer going into the weekend for the Falcons is Kristy Coppes, who now has nine points for the year, with a team high four goals. Ali Shingler has won her last two games in the net and only gave up one goal last weekend.
“At this point in the year, we are looking to continue our strong play and try to keep working hard to improve the play,” Richards said. “We need to keep our MAC games as the top priority and we know that’s our ticket to the postseason play.”
Today’s game at Valparaiso is at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon’s game against Toledo will take place at 1 p.m. at Cochrane Field.
