Team keeping slim hopes alive
The field hockey team has a shot at a Mid-American Conference title.
But it’s a long shot at best.
Coach Cristy Freese said the team needs to win out and have some help, to have a shot at the regular season MAC crown. CMU is fourth in the MAC at 3-3 and 6-9 overall behind Miami, Kent State and first-place Ohio.
The Chippewas still have one more game with each of those teams, giving them some control of their destiny.
“We need to win,” Freese said. “We have four conference games left to determine the MAC champion.”
CMU needs to end its four-game losing streak even before thinking of the conference race.
It plays at Miami (7-8, 4-4 in the MAC) today and at Ball State (2-11, 1-5 MAC), the last team it defeated, Saturday at 1 p.m.
Miami senior goalkeeper Kerri Orr gave the Chippewas fits when the teams last met in Mount Pleasant, notching 20 saves.
The missed scoring opportunities in the 2-1 overtime loss to RedHawks are something that have plagued the team as of late. CMU tallied only one goal in its last two games against Big Ten opponents Michigan State and Ohio State.
“Granted, our last two games were against Big Ten teams, but we need to finish our scoring opportunities,” Freese said. “We need good passing.”
Senior Erica Takach, who leads the MAC in assists with 11, said the team needs crisp passes in order to produce more goals.
“Basically, we need to pass to each other instead of cracking the ball upfield,” she said. “It’s not necessary to slam the ball 50 yards up the field. We need to make a couple of passes instead of trying to slam it through everybody.”
Takach knows it is imperative for CMU to have some momentum going into the MAC Tournament, which it hosts.
“We need to win every single game to have a little more confidence,” she said.
