Field hockey finishes season strong with victory over Ball State
Following a weekend with a losses to Miami and Louisville, postseason hopes were out of the question for the Central Michigan field hockey team. The Chippewas had one game remaining, meaningless in terms of postseason significance, but very meaningful for seven seniors playing their final game.
It was a game they all managed to find meaning in, as the Chippewas finished off the season with an impressive 4-1 victory over Ball State.
“I’m very, very happy with how we played,” Head Coach Molly Pelowski told Andy Sneddon from cmuchippewas.com after the game. “We were able to make adjustments and stuck to the game plan and we executed. We played well against a very tenacious team.”
The Chippewas (2-15, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) and the RedHawks (2-15, 0-5 MAC) entered the game as the bottom two in the Mid-American conference, and both out of MAC tournament contention.
Ball State got on the board first with a goal in the eighth minute of play by forward Natalie Jardell, but CMU quickly answered in the 17th minute with a goal by sophomore Alex Gonda, her first of the season.
After halftime, Central Michigan would go on to score three more unanswered goals via junior Maude Stalars (1) and senior Elaine Materise (2). The Cardinals outshot the Chippewas 8-6.
CMU's four goals is a season high. The team had three goals in its past eight games combined. Goalkeeper Sadie Lynn Reynolds made seven saves in her final game as a Chippewa.
The Chippewas haven't scored four goals in a regulation game since Sept. 1, 2013.
It was a bright moment in a rebuilding year for the Chippewas.
