Field hockey finishes spring season
After having two games cancelled last weekend at Michigan, the field hockey team will wrap up its spring games at Ohio State Sunday.
The two games the Chippewas missed against Kent State and Ohio State will be made up along with a scheduled game against Ohio University. The games are 35-minutes.
To close out the season, they will have a playoff game in the afternoon.
“I am excited for both game formats. We will benefit because we will have more games,” said Head Coach Cristy Freese. “By having 35-minute games, we will have less time to get everything done. There’s a little more emphasis on performance.”
This will be a homecoming for Freese, a former Ohio State captain.
“When I was in school we had very good teams and we were playing for state championships, not conference championships,” Freese said. “Big Ten teams obviously think they should beat us, and I like that role because then we’re the underdogs.”
Freese said teams of the past have felt intimidated when playing Big Ten teams.
“We’ve got the challenge of believing in ourselves and not worrying about who we are playing,” Freese said. “Our team has eliminated that mindset when playing Michigan and Michigan State, but we haven’t played Ohio State enough to know any difference.”
In the final week of spring play, CMU would like to solidify many positions.
“We really want to focus on settling down on the defensive side,” Freese said. “We’re able to give the mid-fielders experience everywhere.”
The question that remains is who will replace goalkeeper Janel Spero. Spero started four consecutive years, leaving juniors Laura Plese and Kerri Krasnow with little experience.
“The goalkeeper spot is not solidified, and I don’t know if that will happen this weekend,” Freese said. “The years that you can come out of spring with a starting keeper is a bonus. If they can make it happen now, then they won’t have to battle the incoming freshman keeper.”
A big reason for the starting position still being open is the lack of game experience.
“When the position is filled, it means that someone has stepped up,” Freese said. “Part of it is experience and that can happen this weekend, especially because we will play more solid on defense.”
Freese said the team is beginning to come together.
“Every year you have a different team and I feel like this team has molded,” she said. “The group we have now is a good group that has developed as a team.”
Last season, the Chippewas defeated Ohio State to finish off the spring season.
“We finished the last weekend on such a high and finished with such a big win,” Freese said. “No one wanted to go home for the summer.”
