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Field Hockey head coach Helen Knull tasked with replacing former goalkeeper stalwart Molly Cassidy

August 28, 2014

For the last four years, MSU field hockey has never had to worry about who would be blocking goals for them. When last season ended after a historic run for the program, Head Coach Helen Knull was faced with a bittersweet reality. For the first time during her tenure as coach for MSU, she had to replace standout goalkeeper Molly Cassidy.

Having been named the starting goalie in as a redshirt freshman in 2010, Cassidy became one of the team’s most valuable players with her consistent play and leadership.

Entering this season, Knull has two options to try and fill the hole left by Cassidy’s graduation. Knull believes redshirt sophomore Sierra Patton  and freshman  Katie Miller both have the skills and intangibles to become great goalkeepers, but they have not been afforded the game experience that Cassidy had.

“Sierra has had minutes, but not a lot of quality minutes,” Knull said. “For her, spring was huge in the off-season and getting games in.”

With another full off-season  under her belt, Patton could step in and make it a seamless transition for Knull and her team. Having an experienced backline  in front of her should take a lot of the pressure off, and Knull has focused a lot  on having a higher success rate of savable shots.

While Patton might not have gotten the meaningful minutes during her first two years at MSU,  she was able to learn from Cassidy and see what it takes to become one of the top goalies in the Big Ten.

“She had a great mentor in Molly Cassidy and Molly Pelowski,  our goalkeeper coach, works with her a lot,” Knull said. “She’s got good people around her, it’s just now about getting her minutes on the field.”

That process started this past Saturday when the Spartans took on Central Michigan and Kent State  at Ralph Young Field  during the preseason exhibition. During the first match-up, Patton looked poised and confident in the net. After allowing one goal in the first half on a defensive blunder, Patton made some impressive stops, including a sliding save to keep the score 4-1 early in the second half.

Although Patton, a native of Chelsea, Mich.,  has the edge in experience, Miller is playing well enough in practice to earn some playing time as a freshman. Born and raised in Ireland,  Miller comes in having won four consecutive North Dublin Schools Field Hockey League championships for her high school.

Her impressive resume has transferred well to the practice field and Knull might have a healthy competition on her hands if both can play to their potential.

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