A thick fog emanates from Four Mile Creek through the oak trees that line Bonham Road. The sound of crickets and birds accompany early-morning joggers who take advantage of the many trails that parallel the waterway. Nestled in the trees sits Bobby Kramig Field where one sound pierces the air: the thud of the soccer ball against rocketing cleats.
Miami University soccer (6-5-3, 2-1-3) is on the hunt. It is fighting for a trip to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The top six teams in the conference qualify for the postseason, and the RedHawks currently sit fifth in the MAC.
Miami still has five conference games before the postseason to solidify their position. The RedHawks are undefeated in their last four contests, including a 3-1 victory over league-leading Eastern Michigan University.
The RedHawks surrendered just two goals during that stretch, mainly due to phenomenal play in goal from senior goalkeeper Dominique Popa. She has spent most of her four seasons in the net for Miami, setting several program records in that span. Popa anchors a defense that has surrendered a goal or fewer in nine games this season and forced five shutouts.
While Miami brings a staunch defense to every game it plays, goal scoring has been the weakness of the 2026 squad. In the first five MAC games, the RedHawks scored just three goals. Prior to their trip to Eastern Michigan, senior attacking midfielder Katie O’Malley spoke about the team’s mentality.
“We are kind of in a slump here,” O’Malley said. “We want to score as much as possible. We want to try to get our wins that way.”
Although Miami was in a goal drought, O’Malley’s leadership and role as an attacking focal point continued to push the ball forward. As one of the leaders in assists (3) and goals (3) for the RedHawks this season, O’Malley has contributed to three of Miami’s last four goals.
“I mean they are so excited every time they come out here, which can be hard as you are not getting the results that you want, but they haven’t dipped down into a funk mentally,” ninth-year head coach Courtney Sirmans said. “I’m really impressed with that.”
It is under the leadership of the veteran-ladened team that Sirmans has seen an infectious energy around the practice field. Sirmans said the team is playing with the right mindset regardless of the results on the field. The RedHawks have reached the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, and they believe that if they stick with their training and consistency, the goals will come.
“The upperclassmen are doing a good job of making sure that morale is in a good place,” Sirmans said. “They know that anything can change based on MAC standings.”
Currently, the RedHawks sit at nine points in conference play, tied with Bowling Green State University. In the final home game of the regular season, Miami will battle the Falcons in what will be a critical game to determine conference standings.
Sitting just below Miami at eight points is the University of Akron. The RedHawks own the tie breaker against the Zips after their 2-1 victory at the start of MAC play. Holding this tiebreaker is a significant advantage for Miami in the postseason chase.
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Tied with Akron is the Ball State University Cardinals. The RedHawks and Cardinals drew in a come-from-behind thriller. O’Malley and freshman Averie Bierker combined for a game-tying goal to earn a point, which was critical for Miami’s playoff push.
“I give them a ton of credit,” Sirmans said. “When they get scored on, they don’t get down on themselves. They just find a way to make sure that they don’t get frustrated and they keep pushing through.”
This mentality will be integral to Miami’s success this season during the most grueling part of its conference schedule. The RedHawks play the top four ranked teams in the MAC in five games.
After vanquishing the conference front-running Eagles, Miami will come home to face cellar dwellers Ohio University. Then the team will take the longest road trip between two teams in the conference, third place University of Massachusetts, Amherst and second place Western Michigan University.
Miami welcomes Bowling Green before traveling to the University of Toledo. These matchups should be pivotal for playoff qualification and potential seeding. Miami needs to win these games to solidify a high seed in the playoffs.
As Miami continues to march toward the MAC playoffs, the team will need to continue to play well defensively. If the RedHawks can maintain their positive mentality, they hope the goals will come. The season is far from over — Sirmans and her team believe that there is still time to make plenty of big moves.
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