Ohio's rivalry with Miami goes far beyond what takes place at Peden Stadium near the end of the football season.
Just ask the Ohio soccer team how they feel about their Mid-American Conference game Sunday against those dreaded RedHawks. They're definitely our number one rival
coach Stacy Strauss said. There are a lot of similarities between the two programs and the schools. Certainly playing a rival is more fun and playing them at home will give us an edge.
They're typically our school rival so of course this is a big one forward Tiffany Horvath said. Two years ago when we faced Miami
we were having a similar season where we were having a little trouble. Carolyn (Valade)
who's now our assistant coach
came out
scored a big goal
and it really turned our season around. So hopefully we can do something similar against them this weekend.
Before they face off against Miami, however, Ohio (3-9, 1-5 MAC) will take on the surprisingly successful Ball State. Projected to finish seventh in the conference, Ball State (11-3, 4-2 MAC) has looked impressive thus far.
The Cardinals are led by arguably the best goalie in the MAC, Alison Becker. Becker leads the MAC in shutouts, save percentage and goals-against average. They also boast the best offense in the MAC, leading the conference in total goals with 31.
Midfielder-turned-goalkeeper Katie Overmann does not seem intimidated by the Cardinals' red-hot offense.
I have total confidence in our defense
she said. Our defense is awesome
so as long as we stay organized and focused
we'll be just fine.
Overmann emerged as the starting goalkeeper after Melissa Parra left school for personal reasons and injuries to the team's other two backups occurred.
Strauss said that she has been very happy with the improvement of her new starting goalkeeper.
Any time you start something new like she did
