Healthy and hot would be a good way to describe the Miami University soccer team as it heads into a Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament semifinal game against Central Michigan University at 11 a.m. Nov. 5.

"I'm very confident because we are playing well right now," Head Coach Bobby Kramig said. "We are playing the best soccer that we have played all year. I'm very positive about things and very confident in the team's ability to step up and perform well when it's all on the line. We had arguably our best performance of the year in the quarterfinal against Akron. I think we are playing very well right now and I'm excited to see what we do against Central."

Kramig's team is seeded as the No. 2 team in the tournament, while the Chippewas (14-4-1, 10-1-0 MAC) hold the No. 3 seed.

"Central is a good team all around," Kramig said. "They are well-organized and well coached with some talented players. Central is a good team that brings a lot to the game. They won the MAC last year and were co-champs this year. That's not by accident. Nobody's perfect."

The Red and White (13-6-1, 5-4-2 MAC) hope to expose the flaws in a team that defeated them 2-0 Oct. 1 in Oxford.

"The last time we played them we played pretty well and had the better of the game for 35 minutes," Kramig said. "After that, we stopped doing what we needed to be doing and the game opened up. We just have to do what we are supposed to be doing for the entire time. We have to go into it with a positive mindset and go right at them … get right in their face and give them attitude to take control of the game."

The Chippewas are hot as well, winning 11 out of their last 12 games. Laura Twidle and Liesel Toth lead Central Michigan offensively. RedHawk Jess Kodiak is tops in the MAC with 24 points, and Twidle has 16, including seven scores. The Red and White, who have four players in the top 10 in that category, want to enforce that offense on a Chippewa defense that only allowed 10 goals this season, with just four of them coming in conference play.

"Right now we are trying to focus on how we want to play the game," senior Sara Lund said. "We are a dangerous attacking team and that's what we are going to continue to be. In order to do so, we have been practicing on how to pressure. Central Michigan is a dangerous team. They don't have many flaws. What we are trying to do is find the open seams and penetrate them. We want to make them a little bit nervous."

Mentality will be vital for success for the 'Hawks against the cream of the MAC crop.

"I think most teams might see us as underdogs," Lund said. "We have nothing to lose and are very confident. Our form is peaking right now. We are playing really good soccer."