Late goal seals field hockey's 1-0 win
Central Michigan midfielder Georgina Minta celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Kent State Oct. 18 at Cristy Freese Field
Junior midfielder Rachel Ruttenberg's goal with 28 seconds remaining was all it took for Cemtral Michigan field hockey to take a 1-0 victory over Saint Francis on Sunday.
After a 7-0 loss to Longwood on Friday, the Chippewas are now 3-7 and 1-2 in Mid-American Conference play. Saint Francis is now 2-8 overall and 0-1 in conference.
“We talked about fighting from start to finish and playing as a team,” said coach Catherine Ostoich. “Those were the two big plans going into the game and we did that for the majority of the game.”
How it Happened
In the first half, CMU and Saint Francis failed to produce any offensive momentum, leaving the game at a scoreless tie entering intermission. CMU accumulated seven shots while Saint Francis earned six.
With time dwindling down in game play in the scoreless second half, Ruttenberg went from right to left in front of the goal dodging a defender and the goalkeeper to hit the back of the net with 28 seconds left.
“The last passing sequence which led to a goal was awesome and it was nice to see we got a deserving goal and not just a fluke goal,” Ostoich said. “It was truly a team effort.”
The Chippewas defense was successful in keeping Saint Francis from scoring and tying up the game in the final seconds.
Key Performers
Ruttenberg led the Chippewas in goals for the day and junior midfielder Lauren Buffington led CMU with three shots with two of them on goal.
Freshman defender Eva Valentini led with four shots on goal for Saint Francis.
What's next
The Chippewas will travel to Oxford, Ohio to continue their MAC play against Miami (Ohio) on Friday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m.
