Michigan State University
Ohio
Spartans Post Win In Final Regular Season Game
10/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 29, 2006
ATHENS, Ohio - The Michigan State field hockey team went up 2-1 late in the first half on a Megan Nimke goal, and earned the win with a scoreless second period and held on for the one-goal victory against Ohio University on Sunday. The Spartans conclude the regular season with a 7-11 overall record (1-5 Big Ten).
"We knew coming in that Ohio would be a tough team," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof, "they won the MAC regular season last weekend and are preparing for their conference tournament. We played our best game of the season yesterday, forcing Ohio State into double overtime, and we wanted to continue to execute our game plan today."
The six Michigan State seniors all started in the final game of the regular season, helping MSU to an early lead, with the first goal coming at 3:33. Senior Becky Bolen got the ball in play on an MSU penalty corner, passing to classmate Kristin Dunn who set up the shot for Geraldine Raynor. The goal was Raynor's fourth on a penalty shot this season.
With a 1-0 lead, the Spartans struck again at 12:01, with senior Megan Nimke taking a solid shot from the top corner of the circle, scoring the first goal of her career on a pass from Anne-Sophie van Rijswijk. The Bobcats got on the board with less than five minutes in the half to end the period with a 2-1 score.
The Spartans won the game following a scoreless second half that saw only one shot by each team, and no penalty corners.The Bobcats held a 4-3 advantage on penalty corners for the game, although the teams were even with five shots apiece. Senior keeper Stephanie Yuhasz had three saves against Ohio.
"This weekend we continued to grow and learned how to improve as a team," said Van de Kerkhof. "We are looking forward to the Big Ten tournament, to show what we have learned throughout the season. We want to put everything together to show the best Spartan hockey that people have seen from us this season."
Michigan State will begin play in the Big Ten tournament on Friday, Nov. 3 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Game times have yet to be determined.
