‘Berg field hockey season approaching its close

Mules enter the final stretch of season, wanting to end on a positive note

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Mallory Holson '22 practicing with the team. @muhlenberg_fh/Instagram

With the field hockey season coming to an end, the Mules are currently 4-8 and sit in ninth place in the Centennial Conference. There are currently three games remaining and the Mules hope to end the season on a winning streak.

Head Coach Megan Eddinger talked about the rest of the season and what her coaching staff needs to prioritize for the rest of the season. “As a team, we are focusing on a strong finish to the end of the season. We have a talented team and have been battling with the competitive teams within the Centennial Conference. We need to focus on our attacking transitions, forcing corners and scoring to be successful during the last couple of weeks of the season,” she said. 

In addition to sharing what her team needs to improve on and what her team’s biggest strengths are, Eddinger reflected on the senior members’ impact. “We have a very talented senior class, it has been a pleasure to coach each and every one of our seniors. They all bring something different to our program in terms of their individual strengths. Collectively the seniors are a huge part of our program. We are taking advantage of every second we have together on the field.”

Eddinger also talked about what the seniors on the team mean to her, saying, “The leadership displayed by our captains as well as the other senior team members has been instrumental for the culture of our program.”

Captain Megan Webber ‘22 spoke about the rest of the season and the approach of her final collegiate game. Webber talked about what the coaching staff is focusing on and the final playoff push. 

“At practice yesterday, our coach emphasized that we really have to win out the last three games in our season to have a chance at making it to the playoffs. In the Centennial Conference every game is winnable, it’s just about what team shows up each day. We also need to focus on playing together, not individually,” Webber said.

Webber also spoke about how the coaching staff is encouraging the team for the final stretch. “Coach Eddinger motivates us by reminding us that we are such a skilled team, we just have to play our best and we can win our games.”

Katie Raab ‘24, also spoke about what Eddinger wants to see out of the team for these three games. “Coach E and the rest of the coaching staff have been encouraging us to play our hearts out on the field and to always play as a team even when we get frustrated. They always tell us how much they believe in us and our abilities to win these games which is a huge encouragement, especially when it gets down to the last quarter of a tiring game,” Raab said.

The end of a college sports season also marks the end for the collegiate careers for the seniors, athletes who have been their respective team’s foundation for the previous four years. For Webber, the final quarter of the season is bittersweet.

“It’s a sad feeling knowing my collegiate career is coming to an end, but I’ve had a really amazing time playing on the Muhlenberg field hockey team, and I will cherish these experiences for the rest of my life. Being on this team, I have really learned how to work with others as a team, and how important it is to work together and not individually. Being on this team, I have also learned how much of a difference confidence can make. Playing with confidence can make you a much better player, and I can see this applying to different areas of life other than field hockey.”

For some of the underclassmen, seeing their fellow upperclassmen move on from playing is a tough experience. For Raab, one of those seniors happens to be her sister Sarah Raab ‘22, “ I’m sad that I only got to have one season playing with my sister instead of two, but I want to make this count as much as I can and win these next games. There is no one else I would rather play with on the field and I will miss her and the rest of the seniors so much next year.”

On Saturday, Oct. 16, the team suffered a tough 4-0 loss to Johns Hopkins University. 

The Mules are on the road to Chestertown, MD to square off against Washington College on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m.

This is a must win game against a tough opponent that is going into the game with a 8-4 record with a 3-3 conference record. The Mules hope to win that game, a definite 

*A game was played on Wednesday, Oct. 20, against Bryn Mawr, in between production and publication.

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