Field hockey at Evanston
Amanda PapkeSenior co-captain Katie Coccia knows what it will take for the field hockey team to get its first win of the season Sunday.
“The key factor will be execution,” Coccia said. “We need to finish our plays whether we are on offense or defense.”
After a 1-0 loss at Indiana, the Chippewas are winless heading to Northwestern.
Head Coach Cristy Freese would like to see the Chippewas take over the game.
“I want us to control the game more with our passing,” Freese said. “We need to pick up the ball sooner and start attacking sooner.”
Northwestern is 1-1 after a win against Boston College and a loss to New Hampshire. Junior Candice Cooper is the top returning NU player with 19 points last season.
The last time CMU and the Wildcats played, the Chippewas cruised to a 3-0 home victory. The Chippewas are 2-5 all time against the Wildcats.
Prior to the start of this season, Northwestern Head Coach Marisa Dido announced she will step down after this season, her ninth.
Although CMU may have an inexperienced defense, Freese does not want to use youth as an excuse.
“We played a good game at Indiana, but we still lost,” Freese said. “This is the second game now and we need to go out and play even better.”
This is the second of five Big Ten opponents CMU will face, part of a tough non-conference schedule which should prepare the team for MAC play.
“When you play with the best you become the best,” Coccia said. “That is where our success has come from, by playing really good teams, and playing them well.”
Against Indiana, the Chippewas only had 10 shots and are looking for more Sunday.
“We have had the defense pressuring our offense more in practice,” Freese said. “In order to score a couple of goals a game, we want to take 15-20 shots.”
