Trottier leads team to victory
Amanda PapkeSenior Tarah Trottier’s seventh goal of the season helped the field hockey team to a 2-1 victory against Stanford in East Lansing Tuesday.
Trottier scored 5:51 into the game, making it 1-0. The score remained 1-0 until junior Kristy Reed scored off a penalty corner on a pass from junior Amy Kauffman.
Stanford’s Molly Melcher scored late to finish the scoring.
Kauffman protected the Chippewas (3-7) lead late, with key saves on the goal line.
“I really trust Amy behind me,” said freshman goalkeeper Danielle Frank. “It is good to know she is there protecting my back post.”
Coach Cristy Freese planned to rest some players before Saturday’s game at Ball State.
“We seemed banged up after the Iowa game, but we didn’t rest any players that needed it,” Freese said. “Early on, we did some nice things, but later in the game both teams got a bit sluggish.”
The Chippewas outshot Stanford 18-14, and had a 20-10 advantage in penalty corners. Frank made eight saves, and allowed one goal for her third win.
Frank was named MAC defensive player of the week after allowing four goals and stopping 10 shots in games against Ohio and Iowa.
“It is really cool because I have never been given an award like that before,” Frank said. “We played pretty well against Iowa, and against Stanford we controlled the whole game.”
Freese has been pleased with the defense as of late, especially sophomore Kim Ferris. Ferris moved from midfield to right back after senior Allison Foland moved to midfield.
“My defensive skills were one of my weaker points, but (coach Freese) and the rest of my team had confidence in me,” Ferris said. “Against Stanford we started out really strong and played as one unit.”
Ferris said she is pleased with the team’s play heading into the rest of the MAC schedule.
“Our team is doing really well, and each game we are slowly improving,” she said. “It is good that we are playing well because of where we are in the MAC season, and hopefully we can win the rest of our games.”
The Chippewas resume MAC play Saturday at Ball State.
