Entering the Mid-American Conference season Saturday with a home game against Miami University, coach Annette Payne is looking for one thing from her Ball State University field hockey team senior class:
Leadership.
"She's made clear that the seniors are supposed to guide the team," senior midfielder Lauren Cruz said. "Even teach them at times. She puts lots of responsibility on us. I think we handle it well."
Last season, the 2006 senior class of Lindsay Quay, Carla Chiampi and Tara Reed combined to score 25 of Ball State's 35 goals and help the Cardinals go from 1-8 to advancing to the MAC Championship game. The 2007 seniors will attempt to do even more, with their goal a MAC championship.
The Cardinals begin conference play 1-5 and have lost their last five games. Payne said she is pleased with her seniors' leadership and performance thus far.
"They're doing a good job," Payne said. "They're committed to our goals."
Unlike last season's group, the 2007 senior class has taken the lead in a symbolic way rather than in a statistical way. Three Cardinals have multiple points for the team this year, led by junior forward Casey Hunsicker with six. However, none of those players are seniors.
Currently, three of the team's five seniors have one point.
Payne said she doesn't plan on doing any comparing between last year's senior class and this year's.
"Is that something we're pushing to compare? Absolutely not" Payne said.
Cruz said the fact that this year's senior class has five players rather than last year's three helps lighten each individual senior's responsibility and makes leading a simpler proposition.
"Having more numbers helps us share leadership," Cruz said. "We're looked up to more. So far we're guiding the underclassmen as best we can."
Payne said she puts trust in her seniors to help lead the team without her necessarily directing them.
"In the grand scheme of things, it's trusted that we're going in the right direction," Payne said.
Entering conference play with one win for the second consecutive year, senior forward Amanda Pavone said the seniors, as well as the rest of the team, feel more confident this time around than they did entering 2006 league play.
"With the way we finished last season, it's given us lots of confidence," Pavone said.
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