Big Ten's Indiana gives CMU break from MAC competition
The field hockey team takes a weekend off from Mid-American Conference play to host Indiana University at noon Sunday at the CMU Field Hockey Complex.
Indiana is a team CMU is familiar with. Sunday's matchup will be the 13th time the two teams have played. CMU holds a 6-5-1 advantage. However, Indiana got the best of CMU in the last meeting in 2006, winning 2-1 in overtime.
"Indiana is a very solid team. They are in the Big Ten, so day-in, day-out they play against top competition," said coach Cristy Freese. "They are certainly a challenge, but they are a team that top teams in our conference can compete against. We just have to see how we measure up to them."
On Sept. 13, the MAC's Ohio University beat Indiana 2-1 in double overtime, handing Indiana its second loss of the season.
"It's the Big Ten, and the kids know that," Freese said. "It is the MAC against the Big Ten; we are thought of as the little guys, but they are thought of as the Big Ten. I think that gives our players a little incentive to do well."
The Chippewas (1-7, 0-3 MAC) will face the challenge of slowing down the Hoosiers' offense by defending their passing game. Indiana (5-4, 0-1 Big Ten) has scored 23 goals in nine games this season.
"Indiana is a very good passing team," Freese said. "We just need to be very aware of where they are on the field and what they are doing with the ball."
CMU is coming off two close conference road losses to Ohio and Kent State last weekend.
"In our last three games I feel like we have played with, if not outplayed, our opponent. We just don't have the results," Freese said. "We need to know that we have to do more to get that result."
As a result of those losses, the team has spent the week working on its fundamentals.
"We went back to basics this week," senior Moyra Betuzzi said. "We started out basic this week and we are slowly working our way back up to where we were before but a different route because what we had been doing wasn't working."
Like always, Freese wants to win, but also plans to use this game as a tune-up to prepare for resuming MAC play next weekend against Miami and Ball State.
"Skill-wise we need to focus on our receiving," Freese said. "That is the piece of our passing game that will keep us going or slow us down."
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