Merging the New with the Old
8/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University field hockey team has a new look this year. Not only has the team added many new faces to the roster, they also have a new confidence in their step. Anyone who has watched their practices in the past week knows that these ladies mean business. In his second year as the RedHawks head coach, Iñako Puzo and assistant coach Chip Rogers have built a team that combines old and new, with 12 of 25 players being new to the program and four student athletes being from out of the country.
After a disappointing finish last year, 7-15 overall, the RedHawks look to put the past behind them and come out of the gate with more gumption this year.
"I would really like to win the MAC tournament and regular conference play," senior Olivia Miller, the team's returning leading goal scorer said. "Mostly I think this team needs consistency. Hopefully in the first few games we are able to do that. I have a lot of high hopes for the team this year."
Her teammate and fellow senior, Addie Absher, couldn't agree more.
"At first we were worried about (all the new players coming in) but we found that we quickly gelled. What we found in the first couple of days of practice, in comparison to the past couple of years is we have never been so quick to come together (as a team). We are already all doing so well."
Miller finished last season with a career high 10 goals and 22 points in 19 games. Despite her outstanding year last season, Olivia has set the bar even higher for herself and her teammates this year.
"Obviously we want to better than the year before," Miller said. "We can only go up from here. We have more of a competitive drive this year with so many incoming freshmen. There's a lot more competition on the field which helps keep us focused. I am really confident in this team."
Addie agreed.
"We need to be able to push each other at practice; it heightens the competitiveness of the team."
With only two seniors on the roster, the RedHawks will have to rely heavily on both their sophomores and freshman. Miami boasts an extremely talented recruiting class that is one of the deepest in school history.
Miami also boasts three students from Germany and another from Argentina this year, making the team extremely diverse in styles of play and cultures. Sophomores Valentina Neira (Mendoza, Argentina) and Leni Gross, (Hamburg, Germany), as well as freshman Bea Dechant (Mannheim, Germany) join starting goalkeeper and two-year letterwinner, junior Sarah Mueller (Berlin, Germany) as representatives of Miami's international athletes.
"Team wise, I think that it brings together different styles of play to our team and diversity (we haven't had before)" Miller said, "Although we are older than them, they teach us new things on the field. This team is as quick as I have ever seen to get along. I think it's really going to help us in the long run on and off the field."
"The new players do a good job asking questions for themselves," Absher added.
Looking ahead to the season schedule, Miller and Absher say that they are looking forward to playing the bigger universities.
"We're really excited to play Virginia. We are excited to play those teams with long winning traditions, but our main responsibility is to be competitive in the conference. We don't' want to drop games we shouldn't," Absher said.
"I think to play strong out-of-conference teams like our opening opponent Northwestern gives us a chance to make a statement," Miller said, "We've never beaten them in the regular season. Ohio State is a big game for us and we only lost by one last year. In reality all of our games are big challenges."
Both girls praised the work ethic of the team and said that consistency and jump from the start are critical to their overall goals for the season.
"We're looking forward to coming out strong and setting the tone," Absher said.
The RedHawks will play one exhibition game on Sunday, Aug. 19 when they travel to Bloomington, Indiana to take on Indiana University at 2 p.m. The regular season begins on Saturday, Aug. 25, when Miami heads to Louisville take on Northwestern at noon in the first round of the Sherrill Brakmeier Classic.
