The last time field hockey coach Neil Macmillan coached in Winston-Salem, N.C., he was the assistant coach of national champion Wake Forest.
He will be returning for the first time as a head coach Wednesday as the Bobcats take on the No. 16 Demon Deacons.
Macmillan said he is looking forward to the opportunity to go back to the school where he spent his first six seasons in coaching, helping lead Wake Forest to three consecutive NCAA championships between 2002 and 2004 and five Final Four appearances.
“Personally, it’s really going to be a lot of fun to go back there,” Macmillan said. “That’s where I was for six years before here. And the head coach is the same, so I’m looking forward to going and competing with Jen (Averill).”
Wake Forest plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is regarded as one of the best conferences in field hockey. The past 10 field hockey national champions have come out of the ACC, along with eight of the past 10 runner-ups. And though the Demon Deacons missed the NCAA tournament last season, wins against two top-10 opponents suggest they could be back on track.
“They’re a good side, and they’ve been a good side,” Macmillan said. “When I was there, we were national champions. They’re in and out of the Final Four. This year, they’re not as good as they’ve been, but they compete in the ACC, which is undoubtedly the best conference.”
And though the Demon Deacons aren’t as good as they have been in past years, Macmillan knows he’ll need a stellar performance from his team to pull out a win.
“They’re going to create a great challenge for us,” he said. “But physically, we can match them. Skill-wise, we just need to be very sharp and tactical. We need to be ready to adapt, because I know they’ll be very savvy as a team and we have to make sure that we go in there with a good plan and an awareness of how to change as we need.”
After defeating St. Joseph’s on Friday, Ohio will try to gain its first win against a ranked opponent this season. But the approach to playing a ranked team is no different than competing against an unranked one.
“We’re preparing the same as we did for St. Joe’s,” said Jessica Vaeth, a junior. “We’re just looking at ourselves, and we’re really focusing on what we need to do to get better. It’s just like any other game. We’ll play our hardest and try to get
the win.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
