CMU field hockey falls in Senior Day defeat

Central Michigan freshman defender AJ Walker searches for an open pass during the game against Bellarmine University at Cristy Freese Field, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (CM-Life | Ali

On a day to honor the seniors on Central Michigan’s field hockey team, it was fitting that its lone goal was scored by senior Cameron Pluciennik on an assist from another senior, Hailey Bainer . The senior-to-senior goal was not enough for CMU to overcome two late scores against Bellarmine.

On Senior Day, a program honors its seniors for their contributions on and off the field. In the case of CMU’s field hockey team, the off-the-field contributions from the four seniors who were honored were just as meaningful as what they did on the field each game.

“They had a ton of leadership, and when you go through a coaching transition, you rely on the players to really kind of hold it together for you and help welcome a new staff,” head coach Kelly Terwilliger said. “They were extremely open to the style of hockey that we had, the style of culture that we wanted, and they really fed into it. We could not be more appreciative of them.”

Along with Pluciennik and Bainer, the program honored fellow seniors Sophia Havrilla and Annabelle Cotroneo.

Both goalkeepers kept the opponent off the scoreboard the entire first half despite both teams finding shots on goal. All of the scoring happened in the second half.

CMU’s goal was Pluciennik’s fourth goal of the season and Bainer’s second assist on the year.

Late in the third quarter, Bellarmine’s Eve Gladys scored through traffic. Gladys scored her first goal in her first shot of the season.

Luna Tuncay scored the go-ahead goal for Bellarmine with roughly ten minutes left in the game. Tuncay leads the Knights with five goals and eleven points this season.

With ten seconds to go in the game, Mora Rulli got ahead of the pack and attempted what would be the game-tying goal for CMU, but her shot went just wide and to the left of the goal.

CMU’s Judith Van Aartsen got the start at goalkeeper for the second straight game. The freshman faced 14 shots and let in two.

“The goalkeeper is the quarterback of the program,” Terwilliger said. “She [Van Aartsen] had the opportunity against JMU and she held her own. I just think that her maturity, and kind of the faith that the defense had in her, really just encouraged us to say, ‘Yeah, green light. Go.’”

With the defeat, CMU falls to 4-13 on the season with a 2-6 record in Mid-American Conference play.

CMU will try to put an end to its four-game losing streak next Friday, Oct. 30 when it plays Miami (Ohio) at 2 p.m. in their last regular season game.