 "Photo:")
The sky was murky and a storm was threatening, but the Miami University women's soccer team (4-3) left the field smiling Sunday. Goalkeeper Krista Pace showed why the seniors were recognized before the game as she shutout the Cleveland State University Vikings (1-7) 4-0 behind a brutal defense.
"The defense was fantastic," Pace said. "I really didn't have any shots to take care of. It was a nice surprise for senior day. I guess it was their gift to me. They were solid and they kept tight and listened to what I had to say. This win was really big going into conference play next weekend. It's always nice to say we are starting off like this. A 4-0 win is a big win."
By blanking the Vikings, Pace turned in her 10th shutout as a RedHawk making her co-leader for that statistic.
"It's always nice to get the shutout," Miami Head Coach Bobby Kramig said. "It was certainly a great tribute to Krista Pace for all the hard work that she has done and the great career that she has had the last 4 years. Our defense is slowly coming together. This was a difficult team to play against today because they have a chaotic style about them that makes it difficult to organize against them. Our guys in the back did a great job. Junior Brooke Livingston was the organizer and the leader of that back. She has been wonderful all year long. Certainly we have some speed back there and some players that can play out of the back so it's coming. It's still a work in progress but it's coming."
On the other side of the ball, the Red and White knocked in a goal in the 34th minute of play when senior Allison Berkey sent a shot into the open net after a miscue by the Viking goalkeeper.
Junior Julia Thompson finished on a beautiful assist off of the boot of senior Kersta Carlson with under a minute left before the half to give the RedHawks a 2-0 lead.
Carlson's generosity paid off again after the second half whistle when she sent a corner kick to the head of Livingston. Her header sailed by the goalkeeper to give the home team a 3-0 advantage.
Freshman Jess Kodiak added icing to the cake when she put in a rebound to give the Red and White a final 4-0 lead.
The senior led team honored Berkey, Carlson, Pace, Jodi Zwingelberg, Stephanie Laser and junior Eva Candia before the game for their dedication and success in their final year as RedHawks. The festivities didn't come without hazard, according to Coach Kramig.
"It was alumni weekend and of course senior day today and this is always the most challenging weekend of the year," Kramig said. "There were lots of alumni back and we had a great turnout and the parents are in town for senior day. We have every opportunity in the world to be distracted and caught up in events off of the soccer field we talked about how they needed to stay focused throughout the week. We had to stay concentrated and keep a physical attitude and I feel like they did that and I'm very proud of the discipline that they showed coming into this game."
Kramig will take his team to New York Friday to rumble with the University at Buffalo Bulls. The game will mark the first MAC game this season for his RedHawk squad.
"I think we are at a point right now where we need to get better at the things we have in place," Kramig said. "I wasn't happy with how we held onto the ball today. I thought we were a little careless with it, and I felt that we were rushed. We need to make sure that we play the way that we train. The things that we do in practice should find a way into our game. When we do that, we're good. We have to do that more often."
