In NASCAR, it's the back straightaway; they call it 'the turn' in golf; and in football, it's known as halftime. Call it what you like - Ohio is there.
At the halfway point of the Mid-American Conference women's soccer schedule, MAC West teams appear to be in control while the Bobcats are in position to pounce in the East.
Ohio (5-5-3, 2-2-2 MAC) is seventh overall in the MAC but sits just two points out of first place in the East Division. And though no game is a guaranteed win, it might be safe to say conference boot camp has ended.
I think that's fair
but I also know that any team in this league is capable of beating anyone else said coach Stacy Strauss. That's been proven through the years.
The Bobcats' first six conference matches were against MAC West opponents. After last weekend, the West is 22-8-6 in conference play, while the East is 8-22-6.
What's even more daunting? Of the West's eight losses, five belong to winless Ball State.
Toledo and Central Michigan are perched atop the conference with 6-0-0 MAC records. Sitting four points back in third is Eastern Michigan, which has posted a 4-0-2 mark through the first six games of the season.
The good news for Ohio is that it has already played all three of those teams. Even better is that only one team remaining on the Bobcats' schedule has a better record than they do. MAC East-leading Miami is 3-2-1 in conference play and 10-4-1 overall.
Ohio visits Miami and third-place Bowling Green this weekend. The Bobcats control their own destiny in the MAC East as long as they keep winning. A division title would secure a top-two seed in the conference tournament.
I think we have two very good opponents in this coming weekend against Miami and Bowling Green Strauss said. We're trying to take one game at a time
one practice at a time and just continue to focus on our play and get better each day.
If the Bobcats beat the RedHawks and Falcons, the only teams standing between them and a MAC East title are Buffalo, Kent State and Akron. The three cellar-dwellers have a combined conference record of 1-15-2.
Strauss said playing against struggling teams at the end of the year is a nice way to wrap up the schedule, but she is also wary of facing squads with nothing to lose.
I've coached teams that have been upset in the final game
and Akron especially has done that to us
Strauss said.
Towards the end of the season you have to be careful that teams don't get motivated just to knock someone else down a peg
even if they have nothing to play for. We just need to continue to take care of business.
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Sports
Michael Stainbrook
