Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

'Hawks end non-conference play on a high note

Chris Hopkins, For The Miami Student

Over the weekend, the Miami University women's soccer team played two games, one in Evansville, Ind. and one at home in Oxford.

On Sept. 16, Miami faced the Purple Aces of the University of Evansville and were triumphant by a score of 4-3. The Red and White then traveled back to Oxford to face Indiana State University on Sunday. The RedHawks came out of their match against the Sycamores with a 2-1 victory in overtime. The win against Indiana State continued the 'Hawks a three game win streak.

In the match against Evansville, Miami got out to an early 3-0 lead and then extended it to 4-0 in the second half. The RedHawks then stumbled late in the second half by allowing three goals but held on, winning by a score of 4-3. Junior midfielder Jess Kodiak scored two goals and added two assists. In the 39th minute, freshman Sydney Busch scored her first goal of her collegiate career. Miami had a 3-0 advantage going into the half and after the 73rd minute, they had a 4-0 lead. However, in a nine minute span, the RedHawks gave up three unanswered goals.

"We took it a little bit for granted there at the end," Head Coach Bobby Kramig said. "I'm not sure we were where we needed to be mentally to start the second half, but we'll learn from it."

On Sunday back in Oxford, sophomore Kayla Zakrzewski followed up Jess Kodiak's two-goal performance by having her own two-goal performance against the Sycamores of Indiana State. Zakrzewski scored in the 32nd minute and then again in the 94th minute in overtime. Indiana State's Kourtney Vassar ruffled the water first by notching a goal in the 16th minute. Unfortunately for Indiana State, they couldn't stop Zakrzewski. This was Miami's final non-conference game before Mid-American Conference (MAC) play starts. Miami will be entering MAC play with a record of 5-2.

The RedHawks kick off conference play this weekend on the road at Kent State University Friday and the University at Buffalo on Sunday. Their first MAC home game will be on Sept. 30 when they host Ball State University.