Field hockey to host MAC's best
The field hockey team hopes to overcome recent injuries as it hosts the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference this weekend.
CMU lost games to both teams by one goal earlier in the season, but gets a chance for redemption at the CMU Field Hockey Complex. CMU hosts Kent State at 3 p.m. today and Ohio at noon Sunday.
"We just know how important these games are for us," said senior Samantha Sandham. "I think I speak for everyone that we are kind of frustrated from the last two games against these teams. We feel we should have had them."
CMU lost to Ohio 4-3 on Sept. 26, and fell to Kent State by the same score on Sept. 27 in Ohio.
Coach Cristy Freese believes the team needs to step up its defense to defeat KSU (10-4 overall, 5-1 MAC) and Ohio (6-7, 4-2 MAC) in round two.
"Certainly the first games against these teams was more of an offensive free-for-all," she said. "We obviously want to be a good defensive team and shut them down and we feel we can score some goals."
The Chippewas fell behind in the previous games and had to fight their way back into the contests.
Freese thinks both Ohio and KSU are tough teams in their own ways.
"I think Kent and OU present different problems," she said. "I think that Kent is a very good offensive team. We need to prevent their fast break, which was the big key against us last time. They were able to get fast breaks and get goals. OU is different in the sense that they can slow the game down defensively."
Kent State won seven of its last eight games and four consecutive. Its last loss came to Ohio on Sept. 28. Ohio, meanwhile, has lost three of its last four after a 3-0 start in the MAC.
"I think these games will be the same style game as the first games against these teams," Sandham said. "I think it is going to come down to who wants it most."
The Chippewas currently sit at 2-3 in the Mid-American Conference with five conference games remaining. The team's goal is to win a MAC title, which is still a possibility.
"Getting two wins this weekend will put us in a completely different position," Sandham said. "Kent and OU are tough teams, but I know we can beat them. We are fired up right now and we know we can still achieve our goals that we established at the beginning of the season. We just have to make this weekend count."
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