Hot Start: Chippewa Field Hockey Defeats Bellarmine, 2-1, in OT, Starts Season 2-0

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. — Central Michigan Field Hockey is 2-0 for the first time since Spring 2021, and third-year Head Coach Jen Johnstone is excited for the precedent her team has set on opening weekend.

"We're really excited to start the year 2-0, especially on the road," said Johnstone. "We found a way to get a win today after playing after Friday, which is never easy to play back-to-back, but the team really persisted."

The Chippewas used a dominant attack to their advantage on Saturday to deliver a non-conference overtime win against Mid-American Conference opponent Bellarmine, 2-0, at Saint Louis' SLU Field Hockey Complex. CMU defeated the host Billikens, 4-1, on Friday in the season opener.

Mallory Camryn and Zoey Emrick each met the back of the cage for CMU. Emrick scored the go-ahead goal in the 8^th minute of overtime, assisted by Kaitlyn Bowker.

The last time the Chippewas and the Knights met in MAC play in 2023 was the last time CMU saw overtime in competition. CMU fell, 3-2, after a hard-fought battle in Louisville.

"It was a heartbreaker," said Johnstone of last season's league matchup with the Knights. "It was a MAC game that we felt like we competed in, we played well and it was a very close game.

"To have that experience this year and be able to put (overtime practice) into use in almost the same capacity as last season and come out with a win is just a tribute to how hard these girls have worked over the summer and how hard they work as a team. It's really exciting to watch them continue to grow their confidence and it just feels good to win."

This time around, CMU took 17 shots against the Knights, 14 of which were on goal, and held the Knights to just four shots on goal out of five total shot attempts.

Camryn scored her third goal of the season in the first quarter to put CMU up 1-0, an unassisted rebound shot from a swing she took just seconds prior. The junior took six shots total, all on goal.

Emrick's goal, the first of the year for the Nazareth, Pa. sophomore, was her fifth career goal. She scored both of CMU's goals in the 2023 game with Bellarmine.

Bellarmine's lone goal came in the fourth quarter.

"We did a really good job of valuing possession," said Johnstone. "I think we had possession about 80% of the game, which is a good indicator of who will win, and that's the style of hockey we play.

"The good thing for us is that we gained more confidence today, to win this game against a MAC opponent is huge. It's huge for our team's confidence and it's huge for our goals for the season. Today was Bellarmine's first game, so we didn't have much other than their key players to go off of and I think we were able to recognize those players and then balance our team around their competitors to equalize and neutralize a game."

In goal for CMU were Coletta Beeler, who logged three saves across three periods. Freshman keeper Jenna Billig finished out the fourth period and stayed in goal through overtime.

Johnstone gave nods to the defensive work of Simoné Potgieter and Klara Mikulaskova, a senior and a sophomore, respectively, for the strength of CMU's backline. Mikulaskova logged a defensive save on Friday against Saint Louis.

"Klara and Simi are anchoring our defense right now and they're strong and steady for us which has been huge," Johnstone said. "You can also see the prowess we're bringing on attack with the shots that we're able to generate against opponents and it's really exciting.

We're really happy that we came out on top, we got the win, because playing back-to-back is not easy, but it is good preparation (for the MAC Tournament and beyond)."

Capitalizing on the holiday weekend to rest and recharge, the Chippewas will be ready for action in time for their next games on Sept. 4, 7 and 8.

CMU is set to play Stonehill College on Wednesday (8 p.m.), hosted at Harvard's Berylson Family Field Hockey Field. The Chippewas will complete the weekend with a pair of games at Johnstone's alma mater, Maine, playing Hofstra on Sept. 7 (2 p.m.) before taking on the host Bears on Sept. 8 (1 p.m.).

"For me, New England will always hold a special place in my heart," Johnstone said. "To be able to go back to Harvard, because I coached at Brown, and play there, and go up to Maine where I coached for four years and played my college career is so great. I'm excited to take the team there and have those opponents in games, and I'm really excited for what we'll get to do as a team to keep building our culture.

"It's a fun trip, but it's a business trip."

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Hot Start: Chippewa Field Hockey Defeats Bellarmine, 2-1, in OT, Starts Season 2-0

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Team Stats

Mallory Camryn

Zoey Emrick

Kaitlyn Bowker

Violet Barton

Players Mentioned

Coletta Beeler

Jenna Billig

Kaitlyn Bowker

Mallory Camryn

Zoey Emrick

Klara Mikulaskova