Field Hockey Heads To Longwood For MAC Opener

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The CMU field hockey team begins Mid-American Conference play on Friday (4 p.m.) in Farmville, Va. against Longwood.

On Sunday, the Chippewas go to Loretto, Pa. to face Saint Francis in a nonleague game at noon.

Improvements
After beginning the season 2-0, Sunday's loss against Michigan marked the fifth in a row for CMU. Despite this, coach Catherine Ostoich said she feels good about her team heading into conference play.

Three of those five losses came to ranked teams: No. 11 Michigan, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 8 Iowa. The other losses came to Columbia and UC Davis, and both were tight games that went down to the wire. After losing to Ohio State, 11-0, the Chippewas fell to Michigan, 3-0.

"I definitely think we have a little bit of confidence back that we didn't have before," Ostoich said. "Ohio State and Iowa were tough competition, as is Michigan. To hold them to three (goals) and actually have two attacking corners at the end of the first quarter, that was huge."

Ostoich said that playing those opponents will benefit the Chippewas, particularly as they get into the meat of the MAC schedule.

"Definitely some confidence in the fact that we know we can hang with anyone, but we know we have a lot to still work on to get us ready for that game on Friday," Ostoich said.

Busy Goalkeeper
CMU goalkeeper Abigail Ebersole made 16 saves in the Chippewas' loss to Michigan. The 16 saves is the highest total by a MAC goalkeeper in a game this season. Ebersole is second in the MAC in saves per game, averaging 6.67.

"She did a phenomenal job," said Ostoich of Ebersole's performance against Michigan. "It was awesome that she showed up, and now going forward it's a big confidence boost for her to know she can pretty much hang with any shot given to her."

Though Ostoich said she is pleased with the performance of her keeper, she stressed that defense – i.e. fewer opponent shots – is a priority.

"We should never (allow) that many shots," Ostoich said. "We are lucky that (Ebersole) showed up to play that game. That many saves, and her stepping up and really commanding the backfield just gave everyone a boost in confidence."

Keys
Ostoich said a critical aspect for the Chippewas, particularly with league games on the horizon and the stakes increasing, is possessions, particularly quality possessions.

"The big one is valuing the ball," she said. "I think we have been more attack minded this year, which is something we've really talked about, but now we're rushing and now we're not valuing possessions."

Scouting
Friday's game is also the MAC opener for Longwood (3-2), which has won, 3-0, in back-to-back nonleaguers with Merrimack and Davidson. Saint Francis is 0-6.

Next
The Chippewas go to Ball State for a MAC game on Saturday, Sept. 28 (1 p.m.).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Abigail Ebersole