Men’s Soccer Hosts Madonna, Visits UNOH This Week

WEEKLY NOTES — MEN’S SOCCER — WEEK NINE

DETROIT — A bevy of playoff scenarios hang in the balance this week as Marygrove men’s soccer plays two of the WHAC’s top-four teams with games against Madonna and Northwestern Ohio on the slate. The Mustangs (7-8-1, 6-1-1 WHAC) will welcome the Madonna Crusaders (12-4, 7-2 WHAC) to Detroit Wednesday (Oct. 29) for a 4 p.m. kick in a matchup of two teams jockeying for the best possible playoff position. On Saturday (Nov. 1), the 11th-ranked Racers (12-2-1, 8-0-0 WHAC) of Northwestern Ohio host the Mustangs for a game that could potentially determine the conference’s regular season champion, depending on Wednesday’s outcomes.

A LOOK AHEAD
Marygrove vs. Madonna
Date: Wednesday, October 29
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Marygrove Soccer Field – Detroit, Mich.
Coverage: Live Video | Live Stats (3:50 p.m.)

Marygrove at No. 11 Northwestern Ohio
Date: Saturday, November 1
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Racer Stadium – Lima, Ohio
Coverage: Live Video (2:50 p.m.)

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Marygrove was on the wrong end of a 3-0 final to Madonna last year in Detroit, dropping the Mustangs record to 1-2 all-time against the Crusaders. The Northwestern Ohio Racers used a pair of first half tallies to earn a 5-0 victory over the Mustangs last season, also in Detroit.

A LOOK AT MADONNA
The Crusaders enter Wednesday’s WHAC showdown in second place, two points ahead of Marygrove as the teams enter the final week of regular season play. Keeper Marcel Schmid anchors a strong defense, boasting five shutouts and a 0.80 goals against average.

A LOOK AT NORTHWESTERN OHIO
Undefeated in WHAC play entering the week, the 11th-ranked Racers have rolled, outscoring opponents at a 49-13 clip thus far in 2014. Pascal Debowiak leads the Racers with 13 goals, while keeper Liam Davies smothers the opposition with five shutouts and a 0.87 goals against average.

PLENTY ON THE LINE WEDNESDAY
Four teams, all of whom have chances to share or win the WHAC regular season title outright, will be in action Wednesday afternoon as Marygrove hosts Madonna and No. 4 Davenport hosts No. 16 UNOH. Both games are slated for 4 p.m. kicks with coverage links on whac.net.

COACH JOHNSON’S CORNER
“It is never easy to win games in this conference,” said Johnson. “Even though Cornerstone and Siena Heights don’t show it in terms of their record, both are very good teams that haven’t had the bounces go their way this year. I thought we did very well to hang in Saturday (Oct. 25), scoring a couple late goals to earn the win,” continued Johnson. “Looking ahead, Madonna is a very tough team that has displayed a great amount of consistency this season. They will enter Wednesday’s game with a ton of confidence after beating No. 4 Davenport last week. As for UNOH, they are always a tough matchup for us. We look forward to both tests this week.”

JALLOW CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Junior forward Abdoulie Jallow added to his stellar campaign last week, tallying a goal and a pair of assists to lift his season totals to eight goals and  11 assists (27 points). The 11-assist season places Jallow atop all WHAC performers, three ahead of Davenport’s Dzenan Catic.

HOME FIELD! BUT FOR HOW LONG?
The Mustangs know they will be home for one postseason game at this point in an otherwise foggy WHAC playoff scene. Anything beyond that will become much clearer Wednesday around 6 p.m. when Marygrove and Madonna, as well as Davenport and UNOH, wrap up their crucial conference contests. With a win over Madonna, the Mustangs could clinch the conference’s second seed – giving the program a shot at two home playoff games, at a minimum. With a win over Madonna and a Davenport win over UNOH, the Mustangs will enter Saturday’s showdown with the Racers in a winner-take-all game for the WHAC regular season championship.

HOME PLAYOFF GAME COVERAGE
The Mustangs Nov. 8 quarterfinal game in Detroit will be covered by the Mustang Sports Network with the Voice of the Mustangs, Jeremy Otto, on the call for the 2 p.m. kick. Coverage begins with a special start time of 1:45 p.m. only on marygrovemustangs.com/live.

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