November 6, 2009 – Athletics

Macie Miller ’12 scored the game-winning goal in Wednesday’s NCAC tournament semifinal, sending the Bishops to the tournament championship game for the first time.

Photo by Sara Tincher

Field Hockey Advances to NCAC Tournament Championship
Ohio Wesleyan Makes First Appearance in Tournament Title Tilt

The Ohio Wesleyan University field hockey team faces its biggest game in the last decade when the Battling Bishops travel to Wooster for the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament championship game at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

This is Ohio Wesleyan’s first appearance in the NCAC tournament championship game. The NCAC tournament champion receives the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament.

“We’re very excited,” head coach Marge Redmond says. “We have a very optimistic and intense attitude.”

That intensity helped the Bishops advance to the championship game with a 1-0 win over Wittenberg in a tournament semifinal on Wednesday, with sophomore Macie Miller scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. That win was the Bishops’ first in NCAC tournament play and avenged two losses to the Tigers during the regular season.

Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster played twice during the regular season, with the Fighting Scots winning both meetings, but Redmond thinks that regular-season results again will be irrelevant come Saturday. “It’s tough to beat a team three times in one year. Like Jay Martin says, with them beating us twice, they’ve had to make no adjustments in their game.”

Despite the high stakes involved in this week’s action, daily routines have remained consistent for the Bishops.

“Everything has been the same—practice, morale, everything has stayed the same,” says Redmond. The team’s practices continue to focus on drills such as shooting and defense drills, and stick work. But to mix things up, the team has a little fun, and it gives them a competitive edge in practice that has carried over to games.

– Danielle Rubinstein-Towler ’13