Finally home; venue debuts today
The field hockey team will make its first public appearance in its new $650,000 complex this weekend.
The Chippewas host Indiana at 3 p.m. today and Ball State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The team played its first two scheduled home games at Michigan State University because of delayed construction on the new field west of the outdoor track and south of the softball complex.
The turf company contracted to build the field initially said the field would be done Sept. 13.
“We have to get a home game routine down,” said coach Cristy Freese. “It is going to be different not getting on a bus and traveling five or six hours to play.”
Playing at home comes as a relief to the team after playing away for seven consecutive weeks.
“We can go to class Friday before the game,” said senior Kristy Reed. “We don’t have to get on the bus and travel and it is just nice knowing the field is ours, we aren’t sharing it.”
- Indiana, 3 p.m. today
- Ball State, 1 p.m. Saturday
Senior Amy Kauffman is used to waking up in a hotel the morning before a game. She said today will be different.
“I can sleep in my own bed the night before,” Kauffman said. “We will eat breakfast as a team as always and then have our usual pre-game workout.”
The team has practiced on the new field five times and has a good feel of the surface.
“We are already used to it,” Reed said. “We have played on so many different fields it doesn’t even phase us.”
Central is 6-7 overall and 3-4 in the Mid-American Conference.
The MAC Tournament, which was originally scheduled to take place at CMU, will take place at Ball State in early November and Central is trying to end its season strong to get the best possible seed.
“Four losses in the conference is not going to win any championships,” Freese said. “We need to win our last three conference games and give ourselves the best possible chance to get the third seed.”
Central will use the non-conference game against Indiana to find consistency in its lineup and to get the best possible combinations of players.
The Hoosiers are 8-6 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten.
“We need to get on a roll down the stretch,” Freese said. “We need to be more consistent and find who the most consistent players are going to be.”
The Cardinals won the teams’ first meeting of the season 4-1.
