Field hockey projected to finish fourth in MAC preseason poll
The preseason coaches’ poll revealed what seems to be an inescapable fate for the Central Michigan field hockey team.
CMU was selected fourth in the Mid-American Conference, which has been a recurring prediction for the last four years.
“That’s probably where I expected the other coaches to put us,” CMU field hockey coach Cristy Freese said. “The coaches tend to put people in where they finished the year before.”
Following a MAC Tournament championship in 2005, the Chippewas have finished in fourth place for five consecutive seasons.
CMU finished last year with an overall record of 6-14, while tallying three wins in 10 conference matches.
The Chippewas season was marked by losses at the beginning and end of the season.
They suffered a 9-0 loss to Louisville in the second game of the season and they lost 8-1 to Kent State toward the end of the season.
But last season was also filled with many thrilling finishes.
CMU won two of three matches that ended after regulation, including a victory via penalty strokes. They lost two of three games decided in the last 7 minutes of the match.
Freese points to not always beating teams it’s supposed to beat as a reason why it hasn’t moved past the top four.
The Chippewas .500 record against Ball State and Missouri State, teams that finishing fifth and sixth respectively in the MAC last season, were evidence of that.
Scoring goals was also a cause for concern for Freese last year. CMU’s average of 1.25 goals per game was sixth in the MAC last season.
After tallying 25 goals, Freese put the benchmark at 40 to 50 goals this year.
“That’s certainly a big goal. We’ve set the bar high” Freese said. “I told the team that the closer to 50 goals scored in a season we can get, certainly the higher the chances we are going to being successful.”
With 13 of 17 letterwinners returning, Freese has hopes of an upswing after five years of stagnancy.
“Were so much further ahead than last year because we got so many returning players,” she said. “Those are the type of things that are going to translate to more consistency on the field.”
