Defense shaky in 5-3 loss
Greg BurghardtThe inexperienced defense could not hold an early lead as the field hockey team lost to Northwestern 5-3 Sunday.
After junior Kristy Reed opened the scoring with a goal off a penalty corner, the Wildcats scored four unanswered goals to close the half.
“We need to be a lot better defensively all over the field,” said Central Michigan Head Coach Cristy Freese.
The team replaced graduated starters Maria Neiswender and Jeanette Spero with Laura Glaza and Katie Coccia, who was a midfielder last season.
The Chippewas dropped to 0-2, while Northwestern improved to 2-1. Freshman Alicia Balanesi scored her first collegiate goal on a pass from sophomore Kim Ferris, and senior Tarah Trottier also scored for CMU.
Diane Provencher, Meghan Small and Candice Cooper all scored a goal and added an assist for Northwestern. Christine Nannicelli and Ellen Schlafly also added goals for the Wildcats.
The problem for the Chippewas was one-on-one situations, which Freese said her team handled poorly.
“We did not play one-on-one very well,” she said. “At this point, compared to where we were last year, we are not as aggressive as we need to be.”
Senior Laura Plese gave up four goals and was chased from the game in the first half. Freshman Danielle Frank allowed one goal on five shots in her first collegiate appearance.
The Chippewas will play in New York for a game with Big East foe Syracuse Friday. The Orangewomen are 0-3 after losing to Iowa 6-1 Saturday.
“We are going to work on our one-on-one play and our aggressiveness in practice,” Freese said. “We will play better in New York.”
