Field hockey finishes season fourth in MAC
CMU field hockey finished fourth in the Mid-American Conference Friday with a 6-14 record.
Hosting the MAC tournament last weekend, the Chippewas won the opening game 2-1 against Missouri State. Sophomore Erin Dye opened the scoring in the 29th minute on a penalty corner shot, her team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Casey Bayliss tied the game up just before the half, but senior Pam Seufert took the lead back in the 55th minute, after receiving a pass from freshman Bailey McKeon.
“It’s important to at least get to the semis with such a young team,” said head coach Cristy Freese. “I felt good about some of the things we were able to do in the tournament.”
In the team’s second round matchup, Kent State knocked CMU out of the tournament with a 4-2 loss.
Debbie Bell led the way with two goals and an assist for KSU. Freshman Emily Girasole and senior Pam Seufert each added a tally for CMU on the team’s only two shots of the game.
“Our defensive structure is something we’ve been trying to work on all year and I think today was a good example of that,” said Kent State Coach Kathleen (Schanne) Wiler.
Dye led the offense with 16 points this season, and freshmen Juliana Makrinos and McKeon each stepped up, adding a combined 13 points for the Chippewas.
CMU started the season lacking a starting goaltender, and junior Anastasia Netto jumped into that role, finishing 6-12 and recording a 2.68 goals against average. She made 115 saves in 19 appearances.
Seniors
The program watched four seniors play in their last game Friday.
Senior captain Kim Sihota finished with three points this season and 13 over her four years with the team. She scored one of her five career goals this season in a 3-2 Senior Day loss against Miami Oct. 30.
“Kim gave her heart and soul to the program and the team and she had a real strong effort,” Freese said.
The team’s other captain, senior Amanda von Leer, was sidelined on and off in her career due to injury. She played in all 20 games this season, starting in 18 games, contributing a goal and two assists.
Seufert was the leading scorer for CMU during the MAC tournament, scoring twice and adding an assist in 73 minutes. In her career, Pam scored 11 goals and added eight assists in 76 games played.
“She has a torn meniscus and she decided that this is her senior year and she’s going to play for it, and she came through this weekend with some goals,” Freese said.
The crowd cheered on senior Amy Binder in the closing minutes as the field hockey season came to an end. Binder appeared in 30 games at CMU, including 12 in 2010, and she recorded an assist on Sept. 12 against New Hampshire.
