Field hockey drops conference opener to Redhawks 4-1
The field hockey team led in just about every category other than goals Friday in a 4-1 loss to Miami (Ohio) at the rain soaked Field Hockey Complex.
Central Michigan had eight more shots (18), four more shots on goal (10) and five more penalty corners (10) than the Redhawks.
“We put as much pressure on them as we could,” head coach Cristy Freese said. “I think the difference in the game was when we had the ball in the circle, it was packed. When they had the ball in the circle, I don’t think it was really packed.”
Miami took the lead and never looked back in the eighth minute of the game, with a goal from senior Olivia Miller that was shot from just inside the striking circle.
“That wasn’t even a shot as far as I’m concerned and it should have been stopped,” Freese said. “What that first goal was, and we work on this a little bit, was where you just try to dump it in, in front of the net, and try to pick up easy rebounds.”
Miller’s second goal of the season was powered into the net from a 180 degree half-spin.
Although the defense of MU did not allow a goal in the first half, sophomore Mary Alice Moore had the best shot at one in the 23rd minute.
She missed the left side of the net by a foot, with the goalkeeper out of the box and few defenders nearby.
Moore did make up for it in the second half, passing the ball to senior Erin Dye, who scored her fifth goal of the season in the 53rd minute.
“I definitely thought we got some momentum,” Dye said. “But I thought we had momentum the whole game, despite the scoreboard.”
The Chippewas challenged thereafter, but were stifled by goalkeeper Sarah Mueller in front of the goal.
The Redhawks added two more goals in the last 15 minutes of the game, when Central Michigan’s players were pushing for a score.
“The good news is, I told the team afterward, I thought they played,” Freese said. “I don’t think they played to the score; I thought they played the entire time. But, apparently we have to do more to get the result we want.”
The team has four more games to prove themselves in the conference with the shortened schedule.
“I think a lot of it hasn’t set in yet,” Dye said. “We definitely made getting into the tournament a lot harder today, and winning a league championship even harder.”
True freshman Anne Middeldorp made her first career start at midfield, Friday.
In the second half, sophomore Jordyn Brengosz spent multiple minutes down on the field, after being gashed in the forehead with a stick.
CMU plays No. 13 Iowa Sunday in its second game of the season at the Field Hockey Complex.
