Big Ten opponents await field hockey
The field hockey team will take a weekend off from Mid-American Conference competition to play a pair of games against Big Ten opponents.
The Chippewas play Indiana at 1 p.m. Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., and at noon Sunday in East Lansing against No. 8 Michigan State.
“Playing against a ranked team helps us focus more because they are ranked for a reason,” said sophomore Paulina Lee. “When we played against Ohio State, we weren’t intimidated and we played one of our best games of the season.”
The two Big Ten teams will test CMU’s defense that has allowed eight goals in its last five games and ranks second in the MAC with a 2.07 goals-against average.
“I think that both teams that we are facing this weekend are very good offensive teams,” said coach Cristy Freese. “That is why I think that it will be a good challenge for our defense. Last weekend, I felt that we didn’t play as strong defensively as we did the week before against Ohio State and we need to get that back so we can finish out the MAC strong.”
The Spartans (9-3) are second in the Big Ten in scoring (3.45 goals per match) and goals-against average (1.56). They come into the weekend with a four-game winning streak.
Indiana (7-4) has struggled against MAC foes, losing to Ohio and Miami while defeating Ball State.
“It is interesting because Indiana is a really good team, but they haven’t done very good in the MAC,” Freese said. “They are sort of an up-and-down team, so I think it will be an interesting matchup for us.”
The Chippewas are even with Indiana in past games, with a 6-6-1 all-time record against the Hoosiers.
The break in conference play comes after a CMU lost three straight MAC games and four of its last five.
Freese said weekly preparation has not changed despite the streak.
“I don’t think that either of those factors will play a role in this weekend,” Freese said. “Our first practice every week, regardless if we win or lose, is to get refocused and work on things that need to be improved. We just work to improve, and the fact that we are on a losing streak is irrelevant.”
