OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University field hockey team (7-5, 2-0 MAC) resumes conference play as the RedHawks travel to Kent State on Friday for a 1 p.m. game before returning home to host No. 9 Virginia on Sunday at noon.

Sunday's game against Virginia is international student appreciation day. The 2019 RedHawks roster includes seven student-athletes from outside of the United States, representing five different countries.

Miami won the first NCAA field hockey game to ever be played in Texas last Thursday, beating Towson by a 5-2 margin. Leonor Berlie scored the first hat trick of her career in the win with Lexie Nugent and Taylor Curran also scoring goals in the win. The RedHawks fell to No. 20 Wake Forest on Sunday 2-0 on pride day.

Head coach Iñako Puzo, senior midfielder Marie Görner and junior midfielder Neely Lochmoeller spoke with MiamiRedHawks.com about making history last week, takeaways from last week's games and looking ahead to this week.
 

OPPONENT PREVIEW

ABOUT KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes enter the week with the exact same overall (7-5) and conference records (2-0) as the RedHawks. Last weekend, Kent State shutout Ball State 1-0 to remain perfect in MAC games before beating Indiana by a 5-1 margin on Sunday. The Golden Flashes outshot their opponents 30-14 on the weekend. Junior Clara Rodriguez Seto leads the Kent State offense with seven goals and four assists for 18 total points while senior Laila Richter has already recorded 10 assists.

SERIES WITH KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes lead the overall series 48-36-1 against Miami. The two teams have met each of the last four seasons in the MAC Championship game. In 2018, the RedHawks shutout the Golden Flashes 3-0 during the regular season and then beat Kent State by a 5-3 margin in the MAC Championship game. Kenzie Peterson, Leonor Berlie, Lexi Silver and Noor Breedijk all scored in the MAC Championship game as Miami outshot Kent State 25-10.

ABOUT NO. 9 VIRGINIA: The Cavaliers hold a 9-3 overall record and a 1-2 record in ACC matchups this season. Last weekend, Virginia beat No. 22 Old Dominion 3-2 in overtime on Sunday after falling 1-0 to No. 17 Boston College in conference play on Friday. Senior Anzel Viljoen (4g, 6a) and junior Makayla Gallen (6g, 2a) lead the Cavaliers offense with 14 points each. Red-shirt sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Hausheer boasts a 1.06 GAA and four shutouts through the first 12 games of the season, having started every game. Virginia will play at No. 5 Louisville on Friday evening before traveling to Oxford for Sunday's game.

SERIES WITH NO. 9 VIRGINIA: The Cavaliers own all 12 victories in the all-time series with the RedHawks. In 2018, Miami fell to an 18^th-ranked Virginia team by a 2-1 margin. Allie Grace Joyner scored the goal for Miami as the teams were tied at one for the majority of the game. Miami outshot Virginia 13-11 and earned seven penalty corners compared to the Cavaliers four.

UP AHEAD: Miami hosts Longwood for a conference matchup on Friday at 1 p.m. for the cancer awareness game. Fans should wear red for the red out.