Field Hockey Hosts No. 17 Ohio State
10/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 13, 2011
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EAST LANSING, Mich.-The Michigan State field hockey team (6-9, 0-3 Big Ten) hosts No. 17 Ohio State in a Big Ten matchup on Friday, Oct. 14th. The game is slated to begin at 3 p.m. and is just the second home conference game the Spartans have played this season.
"Ohio State has strong goalkeeping and they have some key players, distribution-wise," commented head coach Helen Knull. "We just have to limit their opportunities. We can't give up as many corners as we did against Indiana. We made some adjustments to our game plan and we just need to stick to it for the full 70 minutes."
Looking Back
The Spartans went 1-1 this weekend in the state of Indiana, blanking Ball State (1-0) and falling to No. 15 Indiana, 4-2. Freshman forward Abby Barker scored all three goals for the Spartans, which led to the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week honors for her efforts.
Goaltender Molly Cassidy picked up her second shutout of the season, and the seventh of her career, against the Cardinals. Barker's goal came at 16:21 when she pulled the goaltender out of her cage and shot the ball over her head.
Against Indiana, Barker responded to two early Hoosier goals with two tallies of her own to pull the score even. Her first goal came as time was winding down in the first half, when she was able to gather up Jessica Lindner's deflection and sneak the ball past the goaltender. Barker tied the game time three minutes into the second half, scoring off of a scrum in front of the cage. Indiana regained the lead at 56:11 when Morgan Fleetwood scored off of a deflection, then Jaclyn Zamudio scored the final Hoosier goal for the final 4-2 score.
Glancing at the Buckeyes Ohio State (8-6, 2-1 Big Ten) travels to East Lansing after suffering its first conference loss to Iowa, 3-0. Senior Jenn Sculli tallied her eighth defensive save of the season in the match, which puts her at the top of the conference statistics in that category. Juniors Danica Deckard and Berta Queralt lead OSU in scoring with nine goals and two assists apiece. In net for the Buckeyes is senior Ally Tunitis, who has recorded two shutouts and a GAA of 1.68.
Leading the Way
Freshman forward Abby Barker garnered her first career Conference accolade, as she was named the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week for a six-point weekend against Ball State and Indiana.
Fantastic Freshmen
The Spartan's two top scorers are freshmen forwards Abby Barker and Allie Ahern. Barker leads the team in goals scored with eight and game-winning goals with three. She also has recorded an assist. Ahern has notched three goals and one assist so far in her debut season with MSU. She leads the Spartans in shots with 28.
Spread-Out Scoring
The Spartans have had goal contributions from 11 different players so far this season. Freshman Abby Barker leads the Spartans with eight goals. Behind her are two players that have each scored three times, freshman Allie Ahern and redshirt sophomore Elizabeth Helffrich. Junior Adelle Lever and redshirt junior Chelsy Coil each have scored twice for MSU. Freshman Heather Howie leads the team in assists with four.
Big Ten Leader
Goalkeeper Molly Cassidy leads the Big Ten in saves per game with an average of 6.47 per contest. She also leads the conference in total saves, with 97 in 15 games. Cassidy has a GAA of 3.12 and a save percentage of .724. She was honored as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13th after her 3-0 shutout over No. 7 Virginia and a 2-1 victory over Miami of Ohio.
Home Sweet Home
The Spartans began their 2011 season playing 10 straight road games. They have traveled to Louisville, Ky., Boston, Mass., Oxford, Ohio, Providence R.I., and Indiana since the beginning of their season. When they finally returned home, the Spartans opened their home slate with an exciting 2-1 overtime victory over Kent State. MSU then fell in its next two home games to Northwestern and New Hampshire. The match against the Buckeyes will be MSU's second home Big Ten match; MSU's remaining home games are against Michigan on Oct. 21st and Stanford on Oct. 28th.
Game Day Promotions
At the Spartans' game against Ohio State, there will be a t-shirt giveaway to the first 100 students. Every student that receives a t-shirt will be eligible to win an iPod touch at the October 21st game against Michigan. In order to be eligible to be entered into the raffle, students must wear the shirt they received at the Ohio State game to the Michigan game. The drawing will take place at halftime.
Next Up
The Spartans stay in East Lansing next weekend, hosting in-state rivals Michigan on Friday Oct. 21st. The match air on the Big Ten Network and will also honor the two Spartan seniors, Holly Sherman and Angie Lucik.
