Spartans Blank The Hoosiers At Indiana

Oct. 20, 2007

BLOOMINGTON - Ind. - Michigan State traveled to Indiana on Saturday for a Big Ten showdown with the Indiana Hoosiers at IU Field Hockey Field in Bloomington Ind. MSU recorded its 13th victory of the season and its third straight, defeating the Hoosiers, 2-0. The Spartans have played great defense all year, recording seven shutouts on the season. MSU has now played its way to a 13-4 record, and stands with a 4-1 record in the Big Ten.

MSU came out tough on offense too, scoring on the Hoosiers in just the fourth minute of the game. At 3:22, Charlotte van der Laag scored her fifth goal of the season (unassisted), blasting a shot past Indiana goalkeeper Haley Exner from the top of the circle off a rebound. The Spartans' second goal of the game (30:34) came from senior Amy Schneider (her third of the season) shooting the ball off assists from junior Gwen Riley and junior Geraldine Raynor on a penalty corner.

"Today's game was a great win for us; we executed our game plan well," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof. "We got the early goal, and our defense was great from there, resulting in other opportunities. Indiana came back strong in the second half, but the way we possessed the ball helped us control the game. I'm very happy with the results today."

Sophomore goalkeeper Elissa Unger has been very strong in the net for the Spartans in 2007. She recorded her fifth shutout of the season against Indiana and now boasts a 13-3 record, a 1.34 goals against average and a .712 save percentage.

"Elissa has improved throughout the season and is eager to keep improving. When you have those two things, it's a great combination," said coach van de Kerkhof.

The Spartans play their last regular season Big Ten game next Saturday, Oct. 27, when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes. MSU then turns around and heads back to East Lansing to take on Kent State in the last game of the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 28.