Field hockey continues road stretch
The field hockey team will conclude its second six-game road trip of the year with a pair of games against two of the Mid-American Conference’s top teams.
CMU can even its conference record to .500 if it can beat Kent State at 1 p.m. Saturday and Ohio at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Coach Cristy Freese said the offense needs to get the job done this weekend against a tough defensive team such as Ohio.
“In some ways, Ohio can be the tougher of the two teams to play because of the style that they play,” she said. “They are a team that just likes to slow you down and control the play.”
In its last seven games, the Chippewas’ offense has scored eight goals. The offensive struggles could serve as a problem when going up against a tough defensive team such as the Bobcats, Freese said.
“They are a hard team to generate offense against and, for a team like us that has at times struggled at generating offense, that is what makes them so difficult to play,” she said.
Sophomore midfielder Paulina Lee said the focus has been on improving play in the circle.
“In practice, we have basically been working a lot on improving our movement in the circle,” Lee said. “We have been making sure that our sticks are down and that we are taking quicker shots in the circle.”
This weekend will be the second time CMU has faced Kent State and Ohio in the same weekend. The first time, the team lost each game 2-1 in Mount Pleasant.
“I don’t know if this game is going to be the same type of game that we played three weeks ago against them,” Freese said. “I just know that we need to continue to play our stingy defense and hope to come through on the offensive end a little bit more.”
In the first game against Kent State, the Golden Flashes had 10 penalty corners compared to CMU’s seven. Freese said that was the difference in the game.
“The thing that Kent did well against us last time, which made a difference in the game, was their execution of their penalty corners,” Freese said. “We have to play the penalty corners a little bit better and, on our end, we have to execute a little bit better, whether it is on the penalty corners or anything in the circle that will get us to score.”
With the MAC Tournament nearing, Lee said the team needs to get in a rhythm with this weekend’s two games.
“I think it will definitely give us momentum going forward,” she said. “These wins this weekend would help us go into the MAC Tournament with much more confidence.”
