CMU splits final two regular-season games
John EhlkeThe field hockey team closed out the regular season with a 2-0 loss to No. 10 Michigan State Sunday at the CMU Field Hockey Complex.
The Chippewas held the Spartans scoreless in the first half and took a 0-0 tie into halftime.
"I thought we played very well today," said coach Cristy Freese. "To be honest, I think we played the best game of the season today."
The game against the Spartans matched sisters against each other. Senior Amanda Lucik found herself matched up directly against Angie throughout the game.
"It was an experience I could never have asked for," Lucik said. "There was so much emotion and we both had huge smiles on our faces. It was just amazing to play her and especially in my last game."
After seeing her team start the Mid-American Conference season with a record of 0-3, Freese is happy with where the team ended up.
The Chippewas have posted an impressive 6-1 MAC record since then.
"We are in a pretty good position right now," Freese said. "In our last seven games, we have done pretty well."
Flashing forward
The field hockey team defeated Ball State 4-2 Saturday to conclude its Mid-American Conference season with a 6-4 mark heading into the tournament.
With the win, the Chippewas earned the fourth seed in the MAC Tournament and will face either Missouri State or a rematch against BSU.
The team received some help from an unexpected source when junior Kim Erasmus tallied her first two goals of the season.
BSU scored first when Jodi Mann scored on a penalty corner 10:10 into the game to gain an early 1-0 lead.
The Chippewas countered with a penalty corner of its own just more than two minutes later when Erasmus buried a shot from the top of the circle for her first goal of the contest. Erasmus notched her second goal of the match at the 26-minute mark to put the Chippewas ahead 2-1 going into halftime. Amanda Lucik and Samantha Sandham each tallied an assist in the contest.
Central held onto a one-goal lead until Moyra Betuzzi's hit Alison Kist on a pass to score on a wide-open net in the 52nd minute to give CMU a 3-1 lead.
Betuzzi's pass again found a teammate for a 4-1 lead. This time it was Paulina Lee in the 60th minute to open up a three-goal cushion. Mann scored her second goal of the game with 1:48 remaining to finish out the game's scoring.
Thursday marks the beginning of the MAC Tournament and Freese is confident that the team will have success.
"If we can play well we feel we can beat anyone in the conference," Freese said. "We have beaten every team but Kent State and we know we didn't play very well against them. So we just have to play well and we will be fine."
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