Central Michigan University
VCU
Dramatic Late Goal Gives CMU First Field Hockey Win
9/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Central Michigan field hockey goalkeeper Sadie Reynolds said the Chippewas felt strong in the circles on Friday as they defeated Virginia Commonwealth, 2-1, earning their first victory of the season.
"I thought we communicated really well today and stuck together," she said. "Sometimes when our circles break down, it was hard to get the ball back, but today we got back with it quicker than normal."
CMU's Jordyn Brengosz struck first in the 21st minute off of a penalty corner. VCU wasted no time as Alexis Schramm tied it three minutes later.
Cayleigh Immelman pushed the Chippewas ahead in the final minute, scoring on a penalty stroke.
Although the Chippewas (1-4) came out on top, coach Cristy Freese said the team's defensive circles were lacking and players were out of position during the first half. As for the rest of the game, she said she was pleased with her players' defensive performance, especially against the two penalty corners for VCU.
"Our penalty corner defense was huge during the second half," Freese said. "When everyone is in position, everything is just easier. There's less panic when there's less people running around each other."
Reynolds made two key saves late in the game to secure a win. One of her saves came on VCU's final penalty corner attack.
"We were confident going into the corner defense because we practice them often, and we know, get the ball out of the circle or off the end line and we win," Reynold said.
Freese said she heard her players talking on the field recognizing points made earlier in the week during practice.
"I heard the defense say, `Hey, we've worked on this,' so they looked really strong as a team back there - that they would all just do their jobs - and that's what defense comes down to," she said. "You can't try and do someone else's job; you just have to do your job.
"Overall, our game was better, but there are little snippets today where we lost composure. Win or lose, you still have to get better. The team is happy today, and that's great, but we've got to get back to work tomorrow to prepare for Providence."
CMU returns to Ann Arbor for the second consecutive weekend to face Providence (2-3) on Sunday. The Friars are coming off a 2-0 loss to Michigan on Friday evening.
