Don't Poke the Bear: Miami Field Hockey Dynasty Still Going Strong

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Winning its eighth-straight MAC Tournament title and 17th-consecutive conference championship overall was never going to come easy for Miami Field Hockey.

For starters, the RedHawks would have to do it on the road…something the program hadn't had to accomplish since 2017, with most of the recent tournaments being contested in Oxford.

Also, top-seeded Miami's draw in the six-team bracket in Harrisonburg, Va. last weekend included a semifinal date with host James Madison before a potential rematch against No. 14 Massachusetts in the final. Both the Minutewomen (who joined the conference this fall) and the Dukes (who became an affiliate member in 2024) were picked ahead of the No. 13 RedHawks in the MAC preseason poll, and UMass particularly came in to the tourney with plenty of reason for confidence: After all, not only did the Minutewomen advance to the final four of last year's national tournament, but they also handed Miami its only conference loss of the season this September.

So, even after Miami ended JMU's season with a 2-1 triumph in the semis and went on to grab a third-quarter lead over UMass on a Malena Sabez goal, the Red and White still seemed to have plenty stacked against them in Saturday afternoon's final against the team they shared the regular-season crown with. Malena Sabez in 2025 MAC Tournament final

Malena Sabez in 2025 MAC Tournament final

For example:

UMass pulled its goalkeeper to score the tying goal with 4:18 to play in the fourth quarter and grab the momentum.
Miami hadn't won an overtime game in more than a year (dating back to Nov. 7, 2024).
The Minutewomen earned the first penalty corner of the initial 'sudden victory' overtime period.
The RedHawks went down a player later in the 7-on-7 overtime due to a green card.
And for Miami to claim victory, coach Iñako Puzo's team would have to figure out how to score again on MAC Goalkeeper of the Year Myrte van Herwijnen in a winner-take-all situation.

"It was intense, but I think we were ready for that level of intensity," Puzo said later. "I think the MAC has become an amazing conference…My mentality is I always feel like I'm the underdog: Even after winning so many years, I still feel like that. In the preseason poll, we were No. 3. But I think one game after the other, we can regain that prestige and that reputation. All these challenges that we had in front of us: This team reacts much better to the challenge than the easy path.

"It's like poking the bear. You keep poking the bear and the bear keeps being more and more aggressive. That's the case with this team…they're going to show you that you're wrong. Keep saying they don't have a shot, keep saying they're not a favorite in the semifinal because you're playing the home team, say that they're not the favorite in the championship because you're playing against UMass who made the final four 12 months ago.

Miami Field Hockey 2025 MAC Tournament celebration

Miami Field Hockey 2025 MAC Tournament celebration

"These challenges just made my team more and more competitive."

Puzo's metaphor begged the obvious follow-up question: What kind of 'bear' is Miami Field Hockey, exactly?

It only took the veteran coach a few seconds to ponder that thought and answer with a smile.

"Man, it's like a panda bear," he laughed. "It's nice and cute, but it's still very dangerous – still able to be a killer behind the nice face."

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Nicky Sjouken had never run faster in her entire life.

Miami's senior goalkeeper was on the opposite end of the field when Lucia Ventos slid the ball between van Herwijnen's legs for the game-winning goal in double-overtime Saturday, capping off more than 75 minutes of an epic field hockey contest between two top-15 teams and sparking a human dogpile in front of the cage.

"I've looked back at the video so many times!," Sjouken exclaimed, recalling her initial reaction to Ventos' heroics as she raced to join the celebration. "I think I jumped in the air first and just started sprinting. I took my helmet off, took my gloves off, and it felt like forever to be able to get to the other circle.

"I don't think I've ever sprinted that fast!"

Sjouken came up big throughout the match to keep the RedHawks in it, from a crucial save in the first 10 minutes to snuff a 2-on-1 attack all the way through a ridiculous stop on a penalty corner less than two minutes into OT.

"My heart rate was probably through the roof…obviously going into overtime, you know it's going to be tough, and you know that a singular mistake can cost you the game," Sjouken explained. "For me, I think it was important to just stay calm and do what I have to do… Nicky Sjouken

"I think we dealt with the pressure really well."

"Nicky sometimes does these saves I can't even imagine," Ventos pointed out. "You just don't know how she did that – it's crazy.

"That save on the corner was insane. I watched it on repeat 70 times later, like, 'Nicky, how could you stop this?'"

"Nicky is the kind of player that her curve is always going up during the season," Puzo added. "She always finishes much stronger at the end of the season and it's when you need her the most. She did it last year and now she's doing it again.

"She was outstanding."

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Lucia Ventos and Malena Sabez in 2025 MAC Tournament final

Lucia Ventos and Malena Sabez in 2025 MAC Tournament final

The goal that ended the game at 2-1 and ultimately propelled Miami back into the NCAA Tournament for the ninth season in a row was one Ventos had been trying to visualize and strategize for every waking minute of the previous two days.

"I'd been manifesting this goal for 48 hours before the game; I promise you," Ventos said later. "I remember being in my room thinking about, 'How can I score on this goalie?' She is incredible and did so many good saves during the game.

"I kept overthinking: 'How can we do it?' I remember calling one of my friends who's also a goalie and asking her: 'Is there any way? What can I do?' Things like that. And when I stepped off the field during the game, I went to Hollyn [assistant goalkeeper coach Hollyn Roe] and asked her, 'What should I do if I want to score against this goalie?'

"I had all of these options in my mind, and during the game, I kept passing balls to the second post so someone could tip it. I [finally] said, 'Okay, the next chance that I have, I'm just going to go and throw it and see what happens.'

"I just went and said, 'This one's mine.'…obviously overtime is a very stressful moment, and I remember before getting into overtime, thinking, 'We're winning this. Nothing can stop us.' We had to win…

"I told one of my friends before the game, 'All of the effort I put in over the summer, in the winter, in the spring, is for this 60 minutes.

"Or 75!", Ventos quickly corrected herself.

Puzo called Ventos' game-winner 'one of the most important goals in Miami history.' Lucia Ventos

"That run is her trademark," he commented. "She's a very attacking right back, someone that hurt so many teams during the year. It's an amazing achievement what she's done in terms of creating scoring opportunities for her teammates and having goals for her….

"I knew when she started running, that she was going to try it and go for the goal. She was not going to pass that one...

"Her speed is incredible. I think she runs much faster with the stick and the ball than without it! The way she carried the ball with that speed was so smooth: It's hard from the outside to understand, 'How can she go through three, four or five people on the sideline?' And she does it.

"We always talk about how, in overtime with that amount of space, that diagonal runs are a killer. They're so difficult to defend. I was so confident in that play…

"The perfect moment, in the perfect spot."

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The dramatic finish in Virginia Saturday afternoon secured the 15-4 RedHawks a trip to —where else?—Virginia. Miami will bypass the opening round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, earning a date with the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville, Va. Friday at noon. The RedHawks look to extend their eight-game win streak and attempt to win a game in the bracket for the fifth consecutive season, with Friday's victor moving on to play either Northwestern (the team Miami has battled in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments) or Yale Sunday for a spot in the NCAA's final four.

Miami Field Hockey postgame at 2025 MAC Tournament

Miami Field Hockey postgame at 2025 MAC Tournament

Despite not facing each other this season, the RedHawks and Cavaliers share a great deal of recent history. The two teams have played six times since 2018, with UVA winning all six but by the narrowest of margins; the Cavaliers have outscored Miami by just eight goals total over the past half-dozen meetings. Now ranked No. 11 in the country, the RedHawks undoubtedly enter the weekend flying high, with the top scoring offense and scoring margin in the nation, an attack highlighted by MAC Tournament MVP Berta Mata (who broke the program's single-season assist record with 20 so far) and star freshman midfielders Sabez and Justina Intzes (who have combined for 42 goals and each rank among the top 10 scorers nationally).

"It's going to be a good matchup," Sjouken said. "I'm excited for UVA: I think it will be a great game."

"It's fun, because Virginia's a team that we always [play] really close," Ventos said. "It's good for us; we have another opportunity to try to win against them…

"We have to be confident in ourselves. UVA's a really good team, but we are too."

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Miami's remarkable success in the conference over the past decade naturally brings two questions to mind for the casual fan, with one query perhaps a tad more serious than the other:

1. What is the secret to the RedHawks' continued dominance?

2. Where exactly does Miami keep all of the trophies, and —after winning 17 in a row— when will Puzo's program run out of room to store them?

Puzo gave a hint at the answer to the first question as he raved Sunday night about his team's maturity and experience. Miami Field Hockey postgame celebration at 2025 MAC Tournament

Miami Field Hockey postgame celebration at 2025 MAC Tournament

"The only way to express it is: I'm extremely proud of this team," he nodded. "The stuff that they talk about in the circle and in the halftime? There are moments where they're better coaches than me!

"What they say to each other, the message that they deliver, and what they demand of their teammates is the right stuff. It's such a big advantage when you're playing with six, seven or eight different players on the field that can be coaching the team from there."

As to the second question? Puzo admitted it's a good problem to have.

"We'll find the space!," he grinned. He referenced an excerpt from the Urban Meyer book Above the Line, which talks about how important it for a person visiting the team's office to be able to see the tradition and level of success of its program right away.

"The trophies have to stay here," Puzo said. "People need to get into that space and immediately understand how we're building tradition and how we graduate champions here.

"All of these trophies are not to be arrogant. It's a proof of work: A proof of a lot of people, a lot of effort and a lot of resources invested in something.

"So you have to keep these trophies somewhere close and somewhere visible for everybody."

And now, with a regular-season trophy and tournament championship trophy already safely in tow, Miami turns its attention to bringing home the biggest one of all, beginning this weekend in Charlottesville.

Miami Field Hockey 2025 MAC Tournament champions

Miami Field Hockey 2025 MAC Tournament champions

So, to the Cavaliers, Bulldogs, Wildcats and everyone else in the NCAA bracket, a word of caution:

Beware the panda…and don't poke the bear.

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

Miami Field Hockey begins its NCAA Tournament run Friday at noon against fourth-seeded Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, and tickets are available here.

All photos in this story are by Brian Mack

Don't Poke the Bear: Miami Field Hockey Dynasty Still Going Strong

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Players Mentioned

Justina Intzes

Berta Mata

Malena Sabez

Nicky Sjouken

Lucia Ventos

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