SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Coming off a 1-2 weekend, the Missouri State field hockey team begins Mid-American Conference play against the Miami (Ohio) University RedHawks on Friday, Sept. 30 at Betty and Bobby Allison North Stadium beginning at 3:30 p.m.
 
Match Info: Missouri State (1-6, 0-0 MAC) vs. Miami University (5-5, 1-0 MAC)
Location: Betty and Bobby Allison North Stadium.
Date: Friday, Sept. 30
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Live Stats: Missouri State Field Hockey
Live Updates: Facebook and Twitter
 
Match History
Miami leads the series with an overall 24-10-1 record against the Bears. The RedHawks have won the last four meetings between the two teams. The last Bear victory came on Sept. 29, 2012 where Missouri State defeated Miami 3-1
 
Last Meeting
The last meeting between Miami and Missouri took place at the Mid-American Conference tournament on Nov. 6, 2015 in Mount Pleasant, Mich., where the Bears suffered a 3-0 loss to the RedHawks. After 22 minutes of scoreless play, the RedHawks took a 1-0 lead off a penalty corner. Later in the 58^th minute, the RedHawks extended their lead 2-0 before scoring their third goal of the match with six minutes remaining. Feli Heinzel finished the match with a total of four saves.
 
Bear Bites

• The Bears enter MAC competition with a 1-6 record after a 1-2 weekend where the Bears earned their first victory of the season over the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds.
• Over the weekend, senior Liz Young tripled her amount of goals from the 2015 season after scoring two goals in Missouri State's 6-0 victory over the LIU Blackbirds and the Bears' lone goal against Pacific. Young ties junior Bianca Mills with a team-leading three goals and eight points on the season.
• On the defensive side of the ball, goalkeepers Feli Heinzel and Megan Drew each had season-high performances over the last two matches. In her first, full match for the Bears this season, Drew racked up a season-high 11 saves against the Pacific Tigers. Heinzel, the Bears' every day goalkeeper, recorded a season-high 10 saves in a tough 2-1 overtime loss against the UC Davis Aggies. Heinzel leads the pair with 32 saves on the season.
• Head coach Catherine Ostoich is in her first season at the helm for the Bears.

 
A Look At The Competition – Miami
Entering Friday's match with a 5-5 overall record, the Miami RedHawks are 1-0 in MAC play after conquering the Central Michigan Chippewas 6-0. The Redhawks defeated Missouri State opponent Saint Louis 9-0 on Aug. 27. Miami is 0-4 against nationally ranked opponents on its 2016 schedule, falling to No. 3 Duke, No. 7 Louisville, No. 12 Virginia and No. 13 Boston University.

Offensively, nine RedHawks have netted goals this season. Sophomore Paula Portugal leads the squad with 11 goals and 24 points. Portugal leads the conference in shots while ranking second in points, goals and game-winning goals. Portugal is followed by Geagy Pritchard, who has seven goals and 15 points on the season. The RedHawk offense has scored a total of 28 goals this season.

Defensively, goalkeeper Alysa Xavier (5-5) has started every game this season, putting in a total of 724 minutes in the cage. The senior ranks first in the conference with four shutouts and third in the conference with 45 saves on the season.

The RedHawks are led by Inako Puzo, who is in his fifth year leading the Miami squad.

Final Details
Pass back against the RedHawks is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. Live stats will be available will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Live updates will be available on Facebook (Missouri State Field Hockey) and Twitter (MSUBearsFHockey).