Field Hockey Knocks Off Central Michigan, 5-2

Sept. 18, 2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 7 Michigan State field hockey team defeated Central Michigan 5-2 in the home opener at the MSU Field Hockey Complex Thursday (Sept. 18). The win marked State's 13th straight home victory dating back to Oct. 7, 2001.

The Spartans (5-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) roared out to a 2-0 lead in the first half before the Chippewas (1-4 overall, 0-0 MAC) got on the board. Junior Veerle Goudswaard (Houten, Netherlands) notched the first MSU goal at 29:50 while junior Michelle Carstens (Edwardsville, Ill.) scored 10:23 later. After CMU cut the lead in half on a Kristy Reed goal, freshman Ashley Pernicano (San Diego, Calif.) continued the MSU scoring run on a penalty corner with Goudswaard earning an assist. Goudswaard then picked up her second goal of the game to lead the Green and White into halftime with a 4-1 lead.

Senior and reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Alexandra Kyser (Columbus, Ohio) completed Michigan State's scoring at the 27:45 mark in the second half to secure a 5-1 advantage. CMU added a goal with 1:03 remaining, but State had already secured the victory.

"This was a big game," said head coach Michele Madison. "They really came at us and put us under a lot of pressure. We didn't have a lot of time with the ball so we tried to pick up our passing game."

MSU's goalkeepers did not see a lot of action with sophomore Christina Kirkaldy (Afton N.Y.) and senior Lauren Hess (Los Angeles, Calif.) splitting time in goal. State outshot the Chippewas 26-7 and earned 13 penalty corners compared to CMU's nine. Goudswaard finished the game with ten shots, four on goal, with two goals and one assist.

"This was a team effort," said Goudwaard. "There was a lot of communication between the midfielders and the forwards. Everybody was really intense."

Michigan State's highly anticipated match-up with No. 1 Wake Forest is slated for Sunday (Sept. 21) at 1 p.m., in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Demon Decons defeated MSU last season 3-0 in the NCAA Final Four.