Field Hockey Prepares for Weekend Set in Ohio

Sept. 16, 2010

Listen to Spartan Sports Podcasts:
Joelle | Kristen | Adelle

EAST LANSING, Mich.-The No. 5 Michigan State field hockey team will travel to Kent, Ohio on Friday to face Kent State at 2 p.m. and then match up against No. 13 Boston University on Saturday in neutral-site game at 1 p.m. The Spartans, who are also ranked seventh by womensfieldhockey.com, look to continue their season-opening seven-game winning streak in their final weekend before they begin conference play.

Scouting the Spartans
The Spartans, 7-0, currently sit atop the Big Ten standings and are the only team in the conference that is undefeated. MSU has been seeing much of its goal production from the midfield line, with both game-winning goals against Providence and James Madison University coming from midfielders Kristen Henn and Angela Pagura. The Spartans recorded 1-0 victories at home over the Friars and the 12th-ranked Dukes last weekend.

Henn leads the Green and White with six goals and one assist, followed by senior midfielder Sabine van den Assem, who has tallied four goals and two assists. Pagura, has scored four times and added one assist, while senior forward Jantine Steinmetz has scored three times this season and has one helper.

Great Goalkeeping
Freshman goaltender Molly Cassidy recorded two out of her three shutouts of the season this past weekend. Because of her efforts, she was honored for the second time this season, as both the Big Ten Freshman and Defensive Player of the Week. She was also recognized by womensfieldhockey.com as the Rookie of the Week for her 23 saves and only two goals allowed in MSU's last three wins. Cassidy has a save percentage of .844 and a 1.08 GAA so far on the season.

Ranked Opponents
The Michigan State field hockey team is ranked No. 5 in the nation by the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The Spartans' ranked opponent this weekend is Boston University, which is placed at No. 13. Michigan State is 3-0 against ranked opponents so far this season. They defeated No. 10 Duke (1-0) and No. 19 Stanford, (3-2). They also posted a 1-0 victory over No. 12 James Madison.

Connecting on Corners
A top strength of the Spartan offense so far this season has been their ability to score off of penalty corners. At least one of MSU's goals in each of their games so far this season has come off of a corner.. The lone goal in the Spartans' victory over James Madison came off of a corner play when Pagura scooped up a rebound and put the ball back into the net. Henn has scored four times from the top of the circle and has proven to be part of a crucial corner team alongside freshman midfielder Katherine Jamieson and senior back Joelle van Ierland. Van Ierland has tallied her six assists off of MSU corner plays.

Looking at Kent State
Kent State enters Friday's contest fresh off of a victory over MSU's Big Ten compatriot, Iowa. The Golden Flashes defeated the Hawkeyes on Sunday 3-1 in a home match and improved to 3-3 on the season. Junior Debbie Bell scored twice for Kent State and senior Nicole Leach finished the game with one goal and one assist. On Friday, the Golden Flashes were defeated by Stanford, 3-1. Freshman Rebecca Lee scored the lone goal for Kent State in the game against Stanford.

Scouting Boston University
No. 13 Boston University suffered its first loss of the season last weekend to crosstown-rival Northeastern and is now 5-1 on the season. In a close match that saw BU outshoot Northeastern 23-4, the Terriers fell 1-0 in a home game. Sophomore goaltender Lizzie Price had 13 saves against the Huskies. The Terriers had better luck two days before when they recorded a 2-0 victory over No. 7 Boston College. The Spartans hold a 3-1 all time record over Boston University.