Upcoming schedule
Aug. 29 - at Rutgers - 12 p.m.
Aug. 30 - at Lafayette - 12 p.m.
Sept. 4 - at Villanova - 4 p.m.
Sept. 6 - at LaSalle - 12 p.m.
Sept. 8 - vs. Northwestern - 3 p.m.
The 2015 season is fast approaching for the Ball State field hockey team, and the Cardinals have a different feel for this season.
In addition to the hiring of new coach Sally Northcroft, junior Lexi Kavanaugh said the team features a new “fight for each other” attitude.
"I feel a lot stronger mentally than I have last year," Kavanaugh said. "The approach I have learned for this year is, 'It's our school, our time.'"
The Cardinals have spent the summer working out and looking to improve on last season’s 5-11 (1-5) record.
Kavanaugh has completed various 5k and 10k runs this summer with her mother in Utica, New York. She has made improvements to her game both physically and mentally by watching international film and playing with international athletes, she said.
"My offseason has been so much fun," Kavanaugh said. "I've been working out like crazy, just playing some hockey — the usual athlete summer."
And with Northcroft taking over the reigns as head coach, Kavanaugh’s new attitude seems to fit the mold of the seventh head coach in program history.
“This is probably the best thing that could have ever happened to this program," Kavanaugh said.
Northcroft played all four years for Ball State from 1996-1999, during which she set various records and won four Mid-American Conference championships. Northcroft was a key component in the
Cardinals 64-21 overall record and a 42-4 conference record.
The two-time All-American was inducted into Ball State’s Hall of Fame in 2010 and the MAC Hall of Fame in 2014.
Kavanaugh was on board with Northcroft’s hiring right from the start.
“How good is it to return to your alma mater to coach; there are not a lot of people who have that opportunity,” Northcroft said in a statement. “It is such a huge honor and such a huge responsibility.”
Under the leadership of Northcroft and the addition of seven freshmen to the roster, Ball State is looking to compete in the MAC and right the ship from last season.
The Cardinals will begin the season on Aug. 29 in a road matchup with Rutgers. Ball State’s first home match will be against Northwestern on Sept. 8.
“For me, it’s kind of like a weird feeling,” Kavanaugh said. “Not a bad weird, but a good weird — like, ‘Wow, everybody wants the same thing that I do.’”
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