No. 15 Spartans Upset No. 8 Ohio State

Oct. 29, 2005

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 15 Michigan State rattled off three first half goals in a 3-2 upset over No. 8 Ohio State at the MSU Field Hockey Complex Saturday afternoon. Senior Michelle Huynh-Ba had two goals in the win, including the game-winner.

"It was a great win for us," commented head coach Michele Madison. "In practice this week we have been stressing how important it is to be aggressive; the girls came out and did that today. We relaxed a little in the second half but in all we played a pretty good game."

Ohio State boasted one of the most high-powered offenses in the Big Ten and the nation coming into Saturday's game and wasted little time showing why they were so dangerous. Just 1:54 into the game, Saskis Mueller scored unassisted to put OSU up 1-0.

State respond however, less than three minutes later. MSU attacked on its first penalty corner opportunity and sophomore Amy Schneider managed to collect a rebound and tap it past Ohio State's Lindsay Williams for her first goal of the season.

At 8:07, the Spartans struck again when Charlotte van der Laag found Michelle Huynh-Ba for her first score of the game.

Later in the half, Huynh-Ba showcased her speed, racing past two OSU defenders and beating Williams again. Her intial shot was deflected, but Huynh-Ba was able to find the back of the cage on the rebound. Huynh-Ba leads Michigan State with 13 goals this season.

With a 3-1 lead, Christina Kirkaldy and the Spartan defense took over, silencing the Ohio State offense for much of the rest of the game. At 58:50, the Buckeyes managed to put another score on the board, but MSU held on for the 3-2 win.

In one of her best performances of the year, Kirkaldy stopped eight shots on the day. The Buckeyes out shot the Spartans 14-7.

State returns to action tomorrow, hosting Ohio University at 2 p.m. in its final regular season game of the year. Next weekend, Michigan State travels to Iowa City for the Big Ten Tournament.