CMU faces Missouri State in elimination game
Post-season conference tournaments can either solidify a team’s season or salvage it.
This week’s Mid-American Conference field hockey tournament in Mount Pleasant is no different as only a few teams can say they are satisfied with their seasons.
CMU begins its quest for a title Thursday at CMU’s Field Hockey Complex as the No. 4 seed against No. 5 seed Missouri State at noon.
The Chippewas beat the Bears twice in the regular season. Freshman Kelly Jordan scored two goals in a 4-0 win Sept. 24. They followed it up that with a 3-2 overtime win the next day.
“The thing I talked about Thursday is to take things one game at a time,” said coach Cristy Freese. “Missouri State is going to be tough.”
Senior Erica Takach scored the game-winning goal just 54 seconds into overtime. The wins put CMU atop the MAC standings, but it didn’t stay there for long after losing five of its final eight MAC games.
Kent State and Ohio occupy the top two seeds for the tournament and have byes in the opening round.
The other four teams (CMU, Miami, Missouri State and Ball State) are looking at the tournament as a chance to redeem themselves.
MAC Tournament
Thursday
- CMU v. MSU, noon
- Miami v. BSU, 2:30 p.m.
Friday
- KSU v. CMU/MSU winner, noon
- Ohio v. MU/BSU winner, 2:30 p.m.
Saturday
- Championship, 2 p.m.
The Golden Flashes were the regular season champions with an 8-2 record. They have won eight straight conference games after losing their first two.
“Certainly I think Kent State is on a roll,” Freese said. “It’s very close after that. This season has shown teams can beat other teams. For (Kent State) to be an overwhelming favorite they would have to go 10-0 in my mind.”
No. 3 seed Miami plays No. 6 seed Ball State after the CMU game at 2:30 p.m.
The semi-finals are Friday, and the championship game is Saturday at 2 p.m.
The winner of the tournament advances to a NCAA Tournament play-in game against the winner of the American East Conference.
While everyone is gunning for the Golden Flashes, most teams are still concerned with only their next game.
Ohio coach Neil Macmillan said his team has aspirations of beating Kent State, but also isn’t looking too far ahead.
“We are looking to accomplish a semifinal win,” he said. “If we look to the final right now we will be getting ahead of ourselves and so we are reviewing the two teams we may face and how we are going to play against them.”
The MAC’s two worst teams, Ball State and Missouri State, are approaching this week as an opportunity to make up for their disappointing seasons.
Missouri State coach Dawn Porter said the tournament serves as a second season for her team, which finished 4-14 overall and 3-7 in the MAC.
“It gives everyone a clean slate,” she said. “It’s almost a second chance. It will be interesting to see how we’ve improved.”
