Field Hockey Denies Stanford, 5-0

Oct. 4, 2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 9 Michigan State field hockey team used a late first half scoring burst to knock off visiting Stanford, 5-0, Saturday (Oct. 4). The Spartans move their record to 9-3 overall (2-0 Big Ten) while the Cardinal fall to 3-7 overall (1-1 NorPac). The win marked the Spartans' 18th straight home victory dating back to Oct. 7, 2001.
"We wanted to play bigger, stronger and tougher," said head coach Michele Madison. "We hoped to possess the ball and to get through the zone coverage. I'm very proud of this team's effort today."

Both teams started the game trying to get a feel for one another. After 31 scoreless minutes, MSU's offense opened a flurry of goals. At the 31:22 mark, senior Alexandra Kyser received a perfect pass from junior Veerle Goudswaard and shot it past goalkeeper Ana Kralovec for the 1-0 lead. The goal was her team-leading 10th on the season. One minute and 38 seconds later, Goudswaard got on the board off a penalty corner with assists by freshman Jennifer Beeuwkes and Kyser. Beeuwkes then notched a goal herself, an unassisted tally with 58 seconds left in the half.

Michigan State out-shot Stanford in the half 16-2, with 13 of MSU's shots on net to the Cardinal's one. State also had nine penalty corners while Stanford posted zero attempts.

The Spartan momentum continued in the second half. The duo of Kyser and Goudswaard hooked up again as Kyser picked up her 11th goal of the season 3:59 into the second half. To conclude the offensive attack, junior Annebet Beerman finished a penalty corner try with her eighth goal of the year from Beeuwkes and Kyser with 40:01 elapsed.

In all, Michigan State scored five goals in a span of 8:39, with the first three goals coming in 2:40. The Spartans registered 19 total shots on goal for the game and 15 penalty corners. Sophomore Christina Kirkaldy started the game in goal for State to get the win. Senior Lauren Hess came into the game in the second half and redshirt freshman Stephanie Yuhasz saw her first action as a Spartan to help secure the shutout.

Michigan State will meet Iowa in Iowa City Oct. 11 at 1 p.m., before returning home to face arch-rival Michigan Oct. 17 at 5 p.m.