The BG women’s soccer team travels to Central Michigan on Thursday, in their final regular-season match.
The Falcons have an overall record of 0-14-2 and a Mid-American Conference record of 0-8-2 as they head to CMU. Thursday presents the last opportunity for BG to get their first win of the 2013 season.
Central Michigan comes into the match with an overall record of 7-10-1 and a MAC record of 7-3-0. CMU ranks third in the MAC West Division while the Falcons sit at the bottom of the MAC East. The Chippewas have clinched a top-four berth with home field advantage for Sunday’s MAC tournament quarterfinal round. Central Michigan leads the series with the Falcons 10-5-2, including seven consecutive meetings. Last fall, the Chippewas got a 4-0 win at Cochrane Field. CMU returned 18 letter winners, including four starters, from a 2012 team that finished 15-7-1 overall, went 9-2-0 in the MAC, and advanced on to the NCAA Championships.
Senior Madeline Wideman said Central Michigan is a “very good team,” but her team has been improving with each day in practice. She said her teammates will go in to fight to get the best result.
With the end of the season right around the corner, head coach Lindsay Basalyga said she is the most proud of her team’s mentality throughout the year. She said she is proud her team takes each game as a challenge to improve instead of giving up when they do not get the desired result. She added that she is especially proud of her seniors for sticking by the program for their entire careers.
“They had a choice throughout their entire career to possibly transfer [or] to quit and they have stuck by this program,” Basalyga said. “I am really, really thankful for their commitment and dedication to leaving the program in a better place than they found it.”
Freshman Paige Amodio said she knew coming in as a freshman that the seniors this year have gone through a lot of adversity.
“I knew that the freshman had to come in and work hard because [the seniors] never gave up on this program, so we don’t want to give up on them,” Amodio said.
Wideman said she thinks coach Basalyga is on the right track to restoring the program at BG.
“I think she’s really going to turn the program around,” Wideman said. “She’s been doing a great job. She works us hard but she knows how to work us and she gets the best out of every single player.”
Freshman Amodio added that she is excited to see where the program goes in the next few years.
“I’m so excited because it’s crazy to see how much we’ve improved from the very beginning of preseason until now,” Amodio said. “I’m definitely excited for my next years here.”
