Freese makes changes, No. 15 MSU up next
The field hockey team can redeem itself with a win against No. 15 Michigan State Thursday.
CMU fell out of Mid-American Conference regular season title contention last weekend with a pair of losses.
An upset of MSU could put the team back on track.
“There is no doubt that MSU is a great team,” said coach Cristy Freese. “They played a tough game and beat us once already this year. We have to come out and execute the basics if we want to defeat them. The team must do a better job of staying low, passing the ball and carrying the ball with more efficiency.”
Up Next
- Who: Michigan State at Central Michigan
- When: 4 p.m. Thursday
- Where: The CMU Field Hockey Complex
- Last time: MSU won 3-1
The team lost to Ohio and Kent State last weekend and is now 6-7 overall and 3-3 in the MAC.
CMU is used to playing nationally ranked teams and is comfortable going into the game.
“If we play together as a team, we can beat any opponent,” said junior Alicia Balanesi. “We cannot come out and treat them like they are a team that we can’t beat.”
MSU won the first meeting this season 3-1 in East Lansing.
The Chippewas were out shot 19-7 and couldn’t convert on eight penalty corner attempts in the loss.
“We have to execute on offense if we want to be successful,” Balanesi said. “We need to take a lot of shots and generate scoring opportunities that will turn into goals. Converting on penalty corners is something we must do.”
CMU played tough defense in the first half against MSU, but lapsed in the second half, allowing three unanswered goals.
The team will institute some lineup changes and a new defensive strategy Thursday.
“We changed some things this week, we are using a more defensive system now; we also shuffled some players around on the field,” Freese said. “We have been inconsistent this year, which isn’t good; hopefully these changes will lead to more consistency and better play.”
MSU is coming off a 4-2 loss to No. 14 Connecticut and enters the game at 8-5 overall. Michelle Huynh-Ba leads the team with 15 points.
The Spartans have one of the best goalkeepers in the Big Ten in Christina Kirkaldy. She has a 1.50 goals against average with 63 saves and two shutouts this season.
The team must keep a close eye on freshman Inge Kaars Sijpestijn, who is the team’s second leading point scorer and netted two goals in the win against CMU.
The Chippewas lead the MAC in every major offensive statistical category. They enter the game with five of the MAC’s top ten scorers.
Balanesi leads the MAC in points with 19. Senior Erica Takach is second with 17 points and her 11 assists leads the conference.
