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“I agree there’s a lot of potential. But what we always talk about is that potential is a word that someone came up with for ‘haven’t done anything yet.’ So, we’re working toward reaching that potential as soon as possible,” she said.
The Raiders will get cracking on that objective when they kick off the season at 6 p.m. Friday at Northwestern (Ohio), a 10-year-old NAIA program from Lima that finished 13-18 last season.
Playing a lower-division foe on the road may seem like a peculiar opener for a team coming off its first Horizon League regular-season title, but the Nutter Center is booked on the opening weekend of college basketball every year with state high school volleyball, and Merriweather didn’t want to sit idle — nor take on a top-tier opponent with so many challenges ahead.
“Our schedule is really, really tough. We’ve got Missouri, Georgia, Stetson, Providence, Richmond. … Since we had to go on the road, and I definitely wanted us to play on the opening weekend, that turned out to be our best option at the time,” she said.
The Raiders might be better off easing into the season anyway with several players sidelined.
Senior center Lexi Smith, a preseason second-team all-league pick, has a deep bone bruise in her knee after a practice collision. And her backup, 6-4 freshman Tyler Frierson, also is out with an ankle sprain.
Asked how long she expects Smith to be absent, Merriweather said: “I’ve got no idea. Those things take different times to heal for different people. We’re moving forward as if we’re not going to have her for a while and will be thankful when we do.”
Smith would have to miss the opener anyway. She’s serving a one-game suspension along with starting wing Symone Simmons and redshirt freshman reserve Dasia Evans for a violation of team rules.
Nia Sumpter, part of a highly regarded four-player recruiting class, will replace Smith again in the starting lineup. The 5-11 center from Myrtle Beach, had seven points and eight rebounds in an exhibition win over Indianapolis.
The Raiders’ home opener is 7 p.m. Tuesday against Eastern Illinois.
“I feel good about our talent,” Merriweather said. “We’re still working on getting cohesive defensively. We have some people out, but that will give our other players a chance to get some valuable minutes.”
Men's soccer: A.J. Patterson, a senior midfielder from Key Largo, Fla., was named the conference player of the year. He's the third Raider in four years to earn that honor, joining Peguy Ngatcha in 2016 and Eric Lynch in '14.
Teammate Dan Bent was named first-team all-league. Stefan Rokvic, Sam DeRoy and Joel Sundell were second-team picks, while Brayden McNitt and Florian Hoffmann made the all-freshman team.
The Raiders finished 10-7-1, posting double-figure wins for the fourth-straight year. Their season ended with a 4-0 loss to Cleveland State in the conference quarterfinals Monday.
Women's soccer: The Raiders almost handed Milwaukee its first loss of the season in the conference semifinals Thursday, falling 2-1 in double-overtime.
Erin Graefen, a freshman from Plainfield, Ill., scored the team’s lone goal with an assist from Monica Hennen, a sophomore from Bellbrook.
IUPUI won the tourney and earned the league’s automatic NCAA bid by beating Milwaukee on penalty kicks.
The Raiders finished 12-8 after a six-win season last year.
Swimming: Dominic Poletta, a sophomore from Green, Ohio, was named the league's swimmer of the week after setting a Wright State pool record in the 50 free with a time of 20:66. He also won the 100 free against IUPUI in 45:81.
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