FIELD HOCKEY: Team aims for conference title

The field hockey team meets in a circle after running during practice on Aug. 26 at the Briner Sports Complex. The team plays at 2 p.m on Aug. 31 against Davidson at Boone, N.C. DN PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY
The field hockey team meets in a circle after running during practice on Aug. 26 at the Briner Sports Complex. The team plays at 2 p.m on Aug. 31 against Davidson at Boone, N.C. DN PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY

Field Hockey upcoming schedule:

2 p.m. Sunday, Davidson at Boone, N.C.

11 a.m. Monday, Appalachian Stateat Boone, N.C.

2 p.m. Sept. 6, Colgate at Hamilton, N.Y.

1 p.m. Sept. 7, Syracuse at Syracuse, N.Y.

1 p.m. Sept. 14, Ohio State at Columbus, Ohio  

As she enters her final season on the Ball State field hockey team, Tarel Teach longs for a Mid-American Conference title. 

“[Winning the MAC] is what we really want,” Teach said. “A [championship is the] major thing we all want.”

As a junior last season, Teach led the Cardinals with 35 shot attempts, while tied for second on the team with four goals.    

The Cardinals finished 2013 with a record of 6-12, losing several games late in the season because of a lack of offense. 

Levi Kavanaugh, a sophomore forward, said starting this season with a win against Davidson on Saturday is imperative to the team’s success.   

“[Beating Davidson] will get all of our confidences up and leave us all in a good, happy mood going into the next couple of games,” she said.

Last season, Kavanaugh led the Cardinals with seven goals and 14 points.

Head coach Beth Maddox said she is looking for consistency more than anything in the game against Davidson.

“We need to do the simple things right,” Maddox said. “Some days are harder than others, but they’re working together and trying to figure each other out. It’s a process to learn each other.”

Maddox will enter the 2014 season with her most experienced roster while at Ball State, with only three freshmen on the roster.

Freshman Carley Shannon said her transition from high school to college has been difficult, but so far she has learned a lot.

"We’re learning our strengths and weaknesses,” Shannon said. “Having a short time period before our first game is a little bit of a challenge, but nothing we can’t work through.”

A four-year letter winner for Bruton High School in Williamsburg, Va., Shannon netted 49 goals and tallied 115 assists in her high school career.

With Saturday’s match against the Wildcats scheduled for 2 p.m., Teach said she’s hopeful and excited for the season to begin.

“Getting off to a good start is important, but it’s also important to know we are learning and growing,” she said. “Our first games are for us to learn and improve. Our Mid-American Conference games are later on ... that’s when we’ve grown into our full potential.”

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