Oct. 30, 2009

OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami field hockey team heads to Kent, Ohio this Saturday to take on conference rival and fellow MAC championship contender Kent State at 11 a.m. Miami will then travel to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats of Ohio University on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The RedHawks are currently 10-8-0 overall and are second in the MAC at 6-2-0, while the Golden Flashes sit just above at 11-6-0 overall and 7-1-0 in conference action. Ohio is currently third at 8-8-0 overall, while matching Miami at 6-2-0 in conference action.

Miami is fresh off yet another conference win this past Sunday at Missouri State as the RedHawks downed the Bears, 2-1, in overtime. Junior Christine Brightwell scored the game-winner for Miami as she sunk a shot under four minutes in to overtime against the Bears. The RedHawks are currently led by senior forward Mary Hull who has 11 goals, three assists and 25 points on the season.

Kent State is looking to nab its second-straight MAC title. The Flashes are coming off a 5-2 conference win over Central Michigan last Saturday. Sophomore Debbie Bell leads Kent State and currently ranks fourth in the country with 22 goals scored. She now has six game-winning goals this season and is tied for the sixth most in a single season at KSU.

Ohio is also coming off of a conference win in this last stretch that is shaping up to be a fight to the finish. The Bobcats overwhelmed CMU last weekend, 5-0, a game in which Ohio’s Marcy Dull scored a hat trick. The team is currently led by junior Katharine Ballard who is tied for most goals on the season with eight, and leads in shots, shots on goal and game winning goals with 54, 36 and four respectively.

This weekend, the last in the regular season, will determine the final rankings heading into the MAC Tournament that begins next Thursday, Nov. 5 in Muncie, Ind. with the quarterfinal round. The semifinals will take place on Friday, Nov. 6 and the championship game will be on Saturday, Nov. 7. Times for each match are to be announced.