Central Michigan University Athletics
Field Hockey Closes Regular Season at Home This Weekend
10/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
CMU Field Hockey This Week
#15 Ohio Bobcats (14-4, 8-1 MAC)
Friday, October 26 at 3 p.m.
CMU Field Hockey Complex
Kent State Golden Flashes (11-7, 6-3 MAC)
Saturday, October 27 at 1 p.m.
CMU Field Hockey Complex
MOUNT PLEASANT - The Central Michigan University field hockey team closes out the regular season this weekend, as it hosts Ohio, the 2007 Mid-American Conference regular season champion, and Kent State at the CMU Field Hockey Complex. The Chippewas entertain Ohio on Friday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m., and welcome Kent State for the regular season finale on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 1 p.m.
CMU dropped all three of its matches last weekend, losing twice by one goal, including an overtime setback against No. 4 Michigan, and falling 4-2 at Miami in between. The loss to Michigan last Wednesday snapped CMU’s three-match winning streak, while the two losses at MAC rivals Miami and Ball State knocked CMU back to .500 in the league at 4-4.
“It was a disappointing weekend, but we took Monday off, got back to practice on Tuesday and focused on this weekend and the opportunity in front of us,” CMU head coach Cristy Freese said. “We’ve been working all season to try and be one of the best teams in the MAC, and that remains our focus this week.”
The losses at Miami and Ball State were surprising because CMU got on the board first in both matches, but could not hold the lead. Prior to those contests, CMU was 5-0 when it scored first and 0-9 when its opponent got the first goal of the match.
“We thought it was important to get the first goal, but honestly we missed opportunities in both of those matches to score more goals and make it 2-0 or 3-0,” Freese said. “We weren’t able to really jump on them. We got rattled as the matches played out and we didn’t respond the way we needed to after our opponents answered with a goal to tie the match.”
While the defeats last weekend cost CMU a chance at the regular season title, it still can finish as high as a tie for second place in the league and earn the No. 2 seed for the MAC Tournament, and with it a first-round bye. The Chippewas will be the No. 2 seed if they sweep Ohio and Kent State in their final two home matches of the season.
“A winning streak can carry you a long way in the postseason look at the Colorado Rockies with their run to the World Series,” Freese said. “Obviously you want to be playing well to carry momentum into the MAC Tournament, and it’s going to be important for us to get some momentum back with our play this weekend. We’re facing two of the best teams in the conference, and we’ve got a lot to play for. I think it will make for an exciting weekend for us, and I’m looking forward to seeing how our team responds to the challenges we’ll face against Ohio and Kent State.”
Chippewa Field Hockey News and Notes
Scouting the Bobcats: Ohio has wrapped up the Mid-American Conference regular season title and will be the top seed in next week’s MAC Tournament. The Bobcats are 8-1 in conference play, 14-4 overall, and they are ranked 15th in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association/STX Top 20 poll. Ohio is led by senior forward Torrie Albini, who tops the MAC in goals scored with 16 and in points scored with 39 on the season, while juniors Rachelle Coetzee and Estienne Coetzee have 10 and nine goals, respectively. Junior goalkeeper Jessie Martin leads the conference with a 1.30 goals-against average and has four shutouts. Ohio won the first meeting with CMU, 4-0.
Scouting the Golden Flashes: Kent State is 11-7 overall and 6-3 in MAC play, and the Golden Flashes can clinch the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye at next week’s MAC Tournament with a win over the Chippewas on Saturday. Freshman Rachel Miller leads KSU with 12 goals, eight assists and 32 points, ranking among the top three in the MAC in each of those categories. Kara Copeland backstops the Golden Flashes with a 1.89 goals-against average and three shutouts. CMU won the first meeting at Kent State, 4-1.
20/20/20 Vision: Junior forward Kelly Jordan had a goal and an assist over the weekend in CMU’s trip to Miami and Ball State, tying her for the team lead with six goals this season and raising her season point total to 15. Jordan has a chance to do something special this season if she can reach the 20-point plateau on the year. She would become the first Chippewa since Melissa Lazarevski in 1999-2001 to have three consecutive seasons with 20 or more points. Jordan scored 25 points as a freshman in 2005 and 26 points as a sophomore last year. It would be even more impressive for her to get to 20 points this season because she has missed almost half the year (six of 16 matches) due to injury. Only one player in CMU history has ever had 20 or more points in all four seasons Cheryl Eglin, from 1996-99.
Cracking the Books: Juniors Samantha Sandham and Kelly Jordan are both putting their names all over the CMU field hockey record books. Last weekend, Jordan joined Sandham in the top 10 on the career points list with her tally in Sunday’s 2-1 loss at Ball State. Jordan raised her career total to 66 points, moving into a tie for 10th place with Laura Farrell (1988-91) and Megann Burns (1994-97). Sandham sits alone in eighth place on the points list with 71 in her career. She assisted on Jordan’s goal, her 25th career helper, and moved to within one assist of fourth place and two assists from the top spot on the career assist chart. Also, the assist was her 10th of the season, making her only the 10th Chippewa ever with double-figure assists in a season. Meanwhile, Jordan needs one more goal to break into the top 10 all-time in goals scored.
Tournament Time: The Mid-American Conference Tournament will take place next week, from Thursday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 3, in Oxford, Ohio. The top two seeds earn a first-round bye, with the other four teams beginning play on Thursday. The semifinals on Friday pit Thursday’s winners against the top two seeds, with the championship match on Saturday. CMU will earn the No. 2 seed with two wins this weekend, as it holds the tiebreaker in a two-way tie with Kent State or a three-way tie with both KSU and Miami.
Chip Shots
CMU has won three straight regular season matches against Kent State and is seeking a sweep of the Golden Flashes for a second straight league slate. Before sweeping KSU last season, the Chippewas hadn’t done that since 1996. From 1997-2005, KSU was 19-2 against the Chippewas.
The Chippewas have lost four consecutive matches to Ohio. Prior to that, CMU had won seven straight over the Bobcats.
CMU needs one win this weekend to ensure a finish of at least .500 in the MAC. The Chippewas haven’t had a losing record in conference play since 2001, when they were 4-6 in league matches.
