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'Hawks field hockey fights hard but falls

Drew McDonell, Staff Writer

The Miami University field hockey team's undefeated season came to an end after being defeated by Indiana University and Northwestern University.

The RedHawks hosted Indiana for their season opener. Miami and Indiana were evenly matched in terms of rankings and game play, which led to a close and competitive game until the very last minute. The Hoosiers were the first to make a move, scoring against the RedHawks late in the first period.

Miami came back strong after halftime, dominating offensively with multiple shots on goal.  In the first 15 minutes of the second period, freshman Emily Gruesser scored, leveling the match 1-1.

Both teams fought hard for the remainder of the second period, but Indiana prevailed. In the final three minutes, the Hoosiers' offense snuck a goal past the RedHawks. Indiana shut out Miami for the remainder of the game, leading to the final score of 2-1.

While the team fought hard, Head Coach Jill Reeve saw some flaws in the RedHawks' game.

"We weren't able to really connect with one another," Reeve said. "When the game becomes individualistic, we are not at our best. We created plenty of high quality scoring opportunities, but we weren't able to finish."

Miami then headed to Evanston, Ill. to take on the Northwestern University Wildcats.  Northwestern proved to be tough competition as they dominated the field, taking five shots on goal and scoring a point during the first period.

The defense stayed on their toes while freshman goalkeeper Sarah Mueller made over six saves throughout the match.

Late during the second period junior Kylie Landeros tied up the game 1-1, but the match did not stay level for long. The Wildcats continued to take more shots on goal. In the last three minutes, Northwestern scored off a penalty corner, clenching the win 2-1.

"We played hard," Reeve said. "These games were a valuable learning experience that will help us to continue to grow as a unit."

Miami's season standings are currently 5-2.

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Senior Christine Brightwell hopes the team can put the recent losses behind and return to the winning streak.

"Coach Reeve has always told us that the true test of a good team is being able to put a string of successful games back to back," Brightwell said. "We have seen what our team can do."

The RedHawks will be back in action Sept. 25 as they take on longtime rival Ohio University. The team will then travel to Kent State University Sept. 26 to take on the Golden Flashes. These matches will be the first conference games for the RedHawks.