Field Hockey Moves To Fifth In The Nation

Oct. 28, 2003

East Lansing, Mich. - It's rivalry week in East Lansing, Mich., and despite the fact that the Spartans and Wolverines have already faced off on the field hockey turf, the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) coaches poll only adds fuel to the fire.

The NFHCA released its new rankings today (Oct. 28), ranking the Spartans a season-high fifth. MSU is now the highest-ranked Big Ten team and stands one spot ahead of U-M in the standings. Wake Forest (14-1), Duke (14-2), Maryland (15-2) and North Carolina (14-4) are the only teams ranked ahead of the Spartans. Other Big Ten teams in the top 25 include No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Penn State, No. 9 Iowa and No. 15 Ohio State.

Michigan State and the Wolverines met for their only game of the regular season Oct. 17 in East Lansing, Mich., a game that U-M won, 1-0, despite a distinct Spartan advantage in every statistical category. Michigan remained undefeated in the Big Ten with the victory, while MSU dropped its first conference game of the year.

At that point, for State to have a shot at claiming the regular-season Big Ten title, Michigan would have to lose to a different conference opponent. On Oct. 26, then-No. 18 Ohio State did just that, upsetting the fifth-ranked Wolverines in Columbus, Ohio, to give Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State identical 4-1 Big Ten records.

Ohio State travels to East Lansing, Mich., and the MSU Field Hockey Complex Friday, Oct. 31, where the Buckeyes and Spartans will battle for at least a share of the Big Ten title. If No. 6 Michigan defeats No. 7 Penn State on Nov. 1 in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Wolverines will share co-champion honors with the winner of the OSU-MSU game. If the Nittany Lions claim the win, the winner of the MSU-OSU contest will own the Big Ten title outright.

Game time for the Ohio State vs. Michigan State matchup is set for 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 31 at the MSU Field Hockey Complex.

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