Michigan State University
Penn State - Big Ten Tournament
Field Hockey Advances To Big Ten Tournament Championship
11/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 9, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Penalty corners proved to be the key as the Michigan State field hockey team defeated Penn State, 3-2, in semi-final action of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the North Turf Field in Columbus, Ohio. The Spartans moved to 20-2 on the season, as Annebet Beerman (Maarssen, Netherlands) scored a pair of goals and added an assist in the MSU victory.
Michigan State opened the scoring in the fifth minute, with a penalty corner goal by Beerman. Jenny Sanders and Julia Adams, both natives of Vancouver, British Columbia, assisted on the goal. The trio teamed up again for the Spartans second goal at the 22:34 mark, as Beerman slammed the ball into the back of the cage for a two-goal lead. Sanders' assist was her 18th on the season, which set a new school standard for attempts in one year.
Penn State cut the Spartans' lead to one on a penalty corner score of its own with a minute left in the half. The Nittany Lions' Heather Conroy converted the pass from Jill Martz and Timarie Legel.
Beerman continued to leave her mark on the game, adding an assist as Michelle Carstens (Edwardsville, Ill.) scored her 13th goal of the season during the 48th minute, widening the MSU lead. Following the theme of the game, the goal was a deflection off Beerman's penalty corner attempt.
The Spartans successfully endured five consecutive Penn State penalty corners, before the Nittany Lions sunk the ball in the cage, with a deflection of a penalty corner goal, closing the MSU gap to one. Kelly Concini tipped in Conroy's shot attempt, slipping it into the net behind MSU netminder Christina Kirkaldy (Afton, N.Y.). Kirkaldy made eight saves on the day, with four coming in each half.
Michigan State controlled the remainder of the game, spending much of the second half in front of the Penn State goalkeeper to secure the victory. For one of the few times this season, the Spartans were outshot by an opponent, as the Nittany Lions out-attempted MSU, 16-7. This game also marked the first time this season that the opposition held the advantage in penalty corners, as PSU attempted 10 corners to the Spartans' six.
With the victory, the Spartans advance to the Big Ten championship game tomorrow (Nov. 10) to face top-seeded Michigan at noon on the North Turf Field in Columbus, Ohio. The Wolverines defeated host Ohio State, 3-2, to advance to the championships game.
Scoring Summary
1 2 FinalMSU 2 1 3PSU 1 1 2
Team Goal (Assist) Period TimeMSU Annebet Beerman (Julia Adams, Jenny Sanders) 1 4:58MSU Annebet Beerman (Julia Adams, Jenny Sanders) 1 22:34PSU Heather Conroy (Jilll Martz, Timarie Legel) 1 33:58MSU Michelle Carstens (Annebet Beerman) 2 47:04PSU Kelly Concini (Heather Conroy) 2 54:44
