Kist to play in front of hometown crowd
Sophomore Allison Kist will play field hockey in front of a familiar crowd for one of the few times in her career.
Kist hails from St. Louis, just three hours away from Springfield, Mo., where CMU plays this weekend.
“It’s really exciting,” Kist said. “I have a bunch of friends that go to the school and play for them.”
CMU (6-7, 1-3 MAC) plays the Bears (5-6, 1-3 MAC) at 11 a.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday.
The opportunity to play against players Kist is familiar with offers more motivation.
“I really want to beat them,” she said. “Especially since they were one of the schools I looked at attending. It will drive me to be more competitive.”
Missouri State joined the MAC last year and had a 3-7 record.
“After last year, I think they are more familiar with the conference,” said coach Cristy Freese . “I think they could be a .500 team in the MAC this season.”
The Bears have one of the best goalkeepers in the MAC. Kim Kinsella is No. 1 in the country with an on-goal save percentage of .848. She’s recorded 103 saves.
“They have got a lot better since last year and I think so have we,” said senior goalkeeper Danielle Frank.
CMU will play on FieldTurf instead of artificial turf.
“It’s slow, but we’re going to have to deal with it,” Freese said.
Sophomore Samantha Sandham had an ankle injury Tuesday at Michigan, but will play.
Freshman back Tara Schiltz returns after missing three games because of injury.
