Thursday, March 28, 2024

Field hockey seeks improvement after up-and-down weekend

September 1, 2014

Coming off a weekend that saw MSU field hockey split two overtime games, it’s easy to imagine the difficulty of trying to weigh the positives and negatives.

On one end, the Spartans took the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils into extra time on Friday following a late goal by senior forward Abby Barker. They were able to battle the ups and downs of the game against Maine on Sunday and find a way to come out on top.

On the other end, too many opportunities were handed over to the opposition. The Spartans couldn’t put together a complete effort for seventy minutes and had to rely on timely scoring from seniors.

This week, Head Coach Helen Knull will have to assess her team’s performance and decide whether to focus on the good or fix the bad.

“From both games this weekend, it’s just the details and it’s the execution part,” Knull said. “We talked to the girls about it in postgame. We’ve got to execute under pressure. We’ve got to execute when we’re up, when we’re down. And at times ... our minds weren’t in it. We’ve got to stay mentally sharp.”

If Knull needs an example of staying mentally sharp heading into next weekend, she would not have to look any further than the seniors on this roster. With Barker recording two goals over the weekend and Allie Ahern registering the game-winner in overtime on Sunday, senior leadership has already made its mark on this season.

On Friday’s overtime loss to Duke, MSU looked like it was on its way to getting shut out the first game of the season. Trailing 1-0 with only seconds remaining, Barker took the game into her own hands.

After forcing a turnover by the side of the net, Barker took the ball on her reverse stick and fired a shot that found the back of the net. As one of the returning seniors, timely performances are no surprise to her coach.

“This is her fourth year here, and that’s what Abby does,” Knull said. “When we’re behind, she’ll put the team on her back and she’ll get her momentum going. She kind of gets these crazy eyes and she gets going forward. And that’s what we saw in the second half coming out of the gate.”

Making sense of the game against Duke, Barker was optimistic about her team’s play in the future.

“I don’t think we played our best game and it just shows that we have so much potential going into the season,” Barker said. “While it is disappointing, it just makes me more excited for games to come.”

If what Barker said is true, and MSU took the No. 4 team in the nation to overtime without playing their best game, it’s a safe bet that the Spartans will look for a stronger effort as they hit the road over the next few weekends.

Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Field hockey seeks improvement after up-and-down weekend” on social media.