Field Hockey Receives NCAA Tournament Bid
11/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 9, 2010
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EAST LANSING, Mich.-For the fourth consecutive year , the No. 11 Michigan State field hockey team (15-5, 3-3) earned a bid to the 2010 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament. The Spartans will be making their eighth overall NCAA appearance when they take on host school No. 3 Virginia (16-3) in Charlottesville, Va. on Sat. Nov. 13. Game time is set for 11:30 a.m.
2010 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament Bracket 
Virginia will host the first and second rounds of the tournament for the second year in a row. Michigan State was eliminated by the Cavaliers in last year's tournament in the regional final 3-2, in a thrilling overtime match.
The Spartans have compiled an 8-7 record in NCAA Tournament games and have advanced to the Final Four in both 2002 and 2004. This will be MSU's eighth tournament appearance in ten years. Under head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof, MSU has made it to the second round of the tournament the last two seasons, which included last year's 7-0 decision over Delaware in the first round before falling to Virginia.
"It's just great that the team found a way this year to take care of business," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof. "We are back for the fourth year in a row which is awesome. It is a great accomplishment for the program and we are very happy to be a part of this."
The Spartans finished the 2010 season with a .500 mark (3-3) in Big Ten Play. MSU was eliminated in the second round of the conference tournament by Ohio State, 2-0. This season, the Spartans have posted wins over No. 9 Wake Forest (3-1), No. 10 Duke (1-0), No. 19 Stanford, (3-2), No. 12 James Madison (1-0) and No.13 Boston University, (6-1) to compile a 5-3 record against ranked teams. At No. 3, Virginia will be the highest ranked team the Spartans will have faced this season.
