Michigan State University
California
Michigan State Drops California, 4-3
9/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 3, 2010
BERKELEY, Calif. - Under the bright west coast sun and clear blue skies, the No 7. Michigan State (3-0) field hockey team defeated California (2-0), 4-3, in their first game away from home. The Spartans outshot the Golden Bears 17-6 in a match that went down to the last minute. Senior forward Jantine Steinmetz scored twice for MSU, which remained unbeaten on the season.
California got the game started at 5:15 when Rachelle Comeau took a pass from Megan Shimojima and beat red-shirt freshman goaltender, Molly Cassidy, on her right side.
Twenty minutes later, Steinmetz put Michigan State on the board after she received a pass from junior back Holly Sherman and chipped in a shot in the top left corner of the cage. Steinmetz wasn't finished yet. At 34:31, she knocked in a rebound, giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead going into halftime. Steinmetz overall had eight shots in total, with six being on goal and two resulting in tallies for the Spartans.
After the break, Claire Dougherty tied it up for the Golden Bears at 42:20, when she tipped in a pass from Shimojima. California then took the lead a minute later when Erin Magill beat Cassidy on a penalty stroke.
At 46:28 it was senior midfielder Sabine van den Assem's turn to tie up the game. She slammed a shot, which was assisted by freshman midfielder Katherine Jamieson and senior back Joelle van Ierland, in past goalkeeper Maddie Hand off of a corner.
At 68:12, Jamieson gathered the ball from sophomore midfielder, Kristen Henn, to score the winning goal for the Spartans. It was Jamieson's first goal of her career for MSU.
"I'm very excited about the win," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof. "It's great to start the California trip with a win because we probably had the biggest travel day of our lives. After getting this one here today, it will allow us to focus on improving our game."
The Spartans led the Golden Bears not only in shots and goals, but also in corners, 8-3. Cassidy had two saves for the Green and White in their first road victory of the season.
Michigan State continues their California trip tomorrow when they travel to Stanford, Calif., to play Pacific at 4 p.m.
