Michigan State University
Virginia
Michigan State Field Hockey Tops Virginia, 6-2
9/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 5, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Michigan State (4-0) field hockey downed Virginia (2-1), 6-2, in a Charlottesville contest Sunday afternoon. "We had a great freshman production by Kathryn Elenz-Martin and Michelle Ciliberti today," said MSU head coach Michele Madison. "They scored goals to put the game out of Virginia's reach, which gave us some breathing room." Still, State's victory did not come easily and the Cavaliers led in scoring for much of the first half. MSU junior Annebet Beerman managed to put MSU on the board in the first half, scoring the first of six Spartan goals. "Overall, we had trouble generating our attack early on," Madison said. "We made some adjustments to generate some ball speed and we were able to find each other a little better."
With time winding down in the first half, senior Veerle Goudswaard moved in on a through ball and attacked the cage, but her initial shot was stopped by Virginia's Katherine Blair. The rebound popped out to Spartan freshman Kathryn Elenz-Martin, who put the ball in the goal with just 31 seconds remaining in the half to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead at the break.
"I am proud of the team's attacking play," Madison said. "They kept going and they got it done. They just kept playing until they made it go their way."
Beerman netted her second goal of the game in the second half, while Goudswaard and freshman Michelle Ciliberti scored one goal each. Breanna Harpstead notched her career-first goal to close out Spartan scoring. Harpstead also had two assists.
Next, Michigan State heads to New Brunswick, N.J. to face Rutgers Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
