Ohio, KSU road games will be tests
Sophomore field hockey player Kim Ferris said this weekend’s road games are important.
“The atmosphere will be a lot different, since the conference race is so tight,” Ferris said. “It will be tough because every game will be played like it’s the championship.”
The Chippewas are 6-9 overall and 4-3 in the MAC, and play today at Ohio and Saturday at Kent State.
The Bobcats are fifth in the MAC at 3-3, and are looking to recover from a 4-3 overtime loss to Kent State. In the first game between CMU and Ohio, the Chippewas scored three unanswered goals in a 3-1 win.
“This weekend we play two totally different teams,” coach Cristy Freese said. “Ohio is so tough, and they have a really good passing game. If they get that going, it is tough to stop.”
If history is any indication, the KSU game will be close. The last five games against the Golden Flashes have been decided by one goal. Three of those games went into overtime.
“We need to mark Kent State tighter to break down their passing game,” Ferris said. “We want to pressure them in order to stop their big plays.”
The Golden Flashes are in first place in the MAC at 5-1. The last time CMU and KSU met, Kent State won 3-2.
“Kent State has some top players that can take you one-on-one, and we have to be able to stop that,” Freese said.
Ferris was named MAC Defensive Player of the Week after last weekend’s two wins. She scored her first collegiate goal against Louisville in a 1-0 victory.
“Kim is an excellent player and when she was playing midfield we were not able to utilize her skills,” Freese said. “It is an attribute to how smart of a player she is, because she moved to defense mid-season, and has done an excellent job.”
Ferris is quick to redirect personal attention back to her team.
“I was really surprised with the award, but I think it shows how good our team has been playing,” she said. “The award focuses more on the team that the player is on.”
Freese said her team has distinct focal points for success this weekend.
“We focus on trying to get the ball up to our forwards, and let them take the ball,” Freese said. “On defense we focus on the other team’s long hit, and we try to make them do what we want. On their second pass, we steal the ball.”
| Conference | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KENT ST. | 5 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| BALL ST. | 4 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| CENTRAL | 4 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| LOUISVILLE | 4 | 3 | 8 | 7 |
| OHIO | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| MIAMI | 0 | 7 | 1 | 12 |
