Field hockey shutout by Iowa
Taking shots are one thing, but putting them on goal is another.
The Central Michigan women’s field hockey team was able to out shoot Iowa 11-10 Sunday, but were unable to record a shot on goal as the Chippewas lost their final nonconference game of the season, 1-0, on Sunday.
While each team had 10 penalty corners, a combined 20 corners produced one goal.
Iowa’s Jessica Barnett scored her fifth goal of the season in the 63rd minute, sending a rebound over the head of junior Anastasia Netto. She finished with four saves, advancing to a 2-4 record in her seven games this season.
“Anna stepped up and had a good game in goal,” head coach Cristy Freese said. “When you can hold a team to one goal, defensively, it’s pretty satisfying.”
This is the second time this season CMU held a team to one goal or less. On Sept. 19, the team limited Saint Louis to one goal in a 2-1 win against the Billikens.
“I thought our team came out fired up (today), and we did some things we talked about in the locker room before the game to improve on from yesterday,” Freese said. “I think we did everything we wanted to do expect score goals.”
N.H. loss
Saturday, New Hampshire defeated the Chippewas 4-1 to open the team’s three-week home stretch.
UNH back Kyle Lyons scored her fifth goal of the season on a penalty stroke to put the Wildcats on the board in the first half.
Whitney Frates added her fourth and fifth tallies in the second half and Kara Connolly scored her fifth goal of the season to put the Chippewas away.
Sophomore Erin Dye took 11 shots this weekend, scoring on one of her six against UNH. Rushing down the sideline, freshman Bailey McKeon sent a cross to the offensive circle, where Dye found the back of the net for the second time this season.
“I think we’re still seeing that we have a quality game (this weekend), and a game we don’t feel as good about,” Freese said. “The consistency part of the game we’re still working on.“
CMU finished its non-conference play with a 2-6 record, finishing 1-2 both home and on the road, and 0-2 at a neutral field.
“We’ve realized the speed of the game needs to be really quick, our passes need to be hard, and defensively we can’t let (our opponents) capitalize on little mistakes,” said junior Brooke Sihota, who leads the team with five points this season.
“Our team’s always excited to play in MAC play,” Sihota said, “but especially with a young team, we want to prove to everyone that it doesn’t matter how old the team is, you can come out and win a championship.”
MAC play opens at 2 p.m. Friday when CMU hosts Kent State (5-5) at the CMU Field Hockey Complex.
“We’re ready for MAC play.” Freese said. “I think our players can go into the conference with some confidence and that’s what I like about our team: we come to play everyday.”
