Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Vermont
Chippewa Field Hockey Drops Season Opener
8/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
BURLINGTON, Vt. - An early two-goal deficit proved too much to overcome Friday as the Central Michigan field hockey team dropped its season-opener, 2-1, to Vermont at the Catamounts' Molton Winder Field.
The Chippewas play La Salle on the same field Saturday at 1 p.m.
Carla Godsman and Rachael Picchi scored in the first 23 minutes to give Vermont a 2-0 lead.
Emily Barber, a junior playing her first game in a CMU uniform after transferring from Hofstra, scored with just under 12 minutes remaining to pull the Chippewas within 2-1.
"It only takes one and we had our chances after Emily scored that goal," CMU coach Molly Pelowski said. "We controlled a lot of those (final) 12 minutes. We had our chances today."
The Chippewas were outshot, 16-13, and Vermont held a 10-4 edge in penalty corners. In the second half, CMU outshot the Catamounts, 10-5, and the penalty corners were an even 4-4.
"I'm happy with the way that we responded," Pelowski said. "In the second half we made some adjustments to our press and we were able to control the midfield a little bit, control the tempo.
"We had opportunities to score. You have to put all the pieces together and we were missing that final piece. We've got the pieces. We've just got to come together."
Sophomore goalkeeper Lily Amadio, playing her first game as a Chippewa, made seven saves including five in the second half.
"Amadio played very well," Pelowski said. "We had some people come off the bench today who really helped lift the team."
Pelowski said that Kayla McClure was among the Chippewas' defensive standouts.
"There's a lot of improvement that I took away from that game," Pelowski said. "It's early, but we've got to come together now. We have to have that sense of urgency to make an immediate change in our game."
