No. 2 Chippewas look for MAC Tourney Title
An NCAA Tournament bid is at stake for the field hockey team this weekend when the No. 2 seeded team competes at the MAC Tournament in Miami, Ohio.
The Chippewas are 7-3 in the MAC and are 14-6 overall. At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, they will take on the winner of the Kent State/Miami game.
“We are very motivated and we want to win,” said Head Coach Cristy Freese. “I don’t care who we play on Saturday. I just want to be able to play on Sunday and I want to win.”
The past week has been one of anticipation. The Chippewas have tweaked their game before the Saturday’s game.
“This week we have been practicing staying lower and we need to release the ball quicker,” Freese said. “I think Kent State is the quickest team in the MAC and if we play them, we need to match their quickness. We have put in a couple of new plays to get more scoring chances off our free hits.”
CMU is outscoring opponents this season 43-29, and it is are outshooting its opponents on average 14-10.5. The Chippewas are pressuring teams quite a bit in the first half, outshooting them 159 to 85.
The Chippewas said success in the tournament relies heavily on execution.
“The team that finishes offensively and defensively in the circle will be successful,” Freese said. “Championship teams make plays when they need to and we are going to need to do that to win this weekend.”
Senior Janel Spero has been the backstop for the Chippewas defense this season. She has spent almost 1,500 minutes in the goal this season, with a goals against average of 1.45 and a .767 save percentage. Spero leads the MAC in all of those categories. All Spero is thinking about is winning this weekend.
“It is nice to reach our goals, but we are looking for bigger and better,” Spero said. “If we win the tournament, we get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and this school has never sent a team.”
Spero agrees with Freese about what will need to be done in order to win the tournament.
“The team that will win is the team that capitalizes on their chances,” Spreo said. “We have to execute on both ends of the field.”
Senior Maria Neiswender believes the next game means everything.
“If we don’t play our best game, it will be our last one,” Neiswender said. “The team isn’t ready to be done and the seniors definitely don’t want to end their career’s yet. We want to go to the NCAA Tournament.”
The Chippewas have had a record-breaking season. It is the first time in school history that they have won seven games in the MAC. They have scored 43 goals this season, 17 more than last season. Seven Chippewas have career highs in goals this season.
If CMU plays Miami, the RedHawks will have to win its first game since beating the Chippewas in the 2000 MAC Tournament. Miami’s goalkeeper Kerri Orr has been strong in the cage, with a conference-high 156 saves.
Kent State is the last team CMU has played, with the Golden Flashes winning 2-1 in overtime. They were picked in the preseason coaches poll to win the regular season and tournament titles.
“We have no excuses and we know we have to come together and keep a positive attitude,” Neiswender said. “If we stay focused, stick together and play a strong game, we should win.”
CMU’s semifinal game is at 2:30 p.m. and the finals are at 1 p.m. Sunday.
