Field Hockey Prepares for Three-Game Series
9/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 20, 2011
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EAST LANSING, Mich.-The Michigan State field hockey team has a busy week ahead as they prepare for three contests. First up is a midweek game at Central Michigan on Wednesday, Sept. 21st. The Spartans then travel to Iowa for their conference opener against No. 13 Iowa on Friday, Sept. 23rd. The Spartans return back to East Lansing on Sunday, Sept. 25th, to host their first home match of the season against Kent State.
"I think the biggest thing is for this week is to stay mentally focused and have the girls look after themselves," explained head coach Helen Knull. "For this younger team, I think this week is going to be a learning curve for them. I think they are really ready and confident, too. We won three out of our last four games and that is going to propel us forward."
Looking Back
The Spartans split their two games this past weekend when they traveled to Providence R.I., posting a win against the Friars, 3-2, and dropping its match to Maine, 4-1. Against Maine, redshirt senior back, Angie Lucik, put the Spartans on the board when she notched her first goal of the season off of a pass from redshirt junior Chelsy Coil. Maine would then answer with four consecutive goals to lead them to their eighth win of the season.
Freshman forward Abby Barker led the Spartans to a victory with her two goals against the Friars. Barker deposited her second goal of the season off of a shot from the top of the circle to open up the match. The Friars scored back-to-back goals within four minutes of each other to take back the lead. Junior forward Jessica Lindner tied up the score at the beginning of the second half of play. Barker tallied the game-winner four minutes later after she deflected a shot of Lindner?s into the back of the net.
Scouting Central Michigan
The Chippewas are led offensively by freshman Cayleigh Immelmann, sophomore Julianna Makrinos and junior Erin Dye who each have three goals apiece. Goaltender Anastasia Netto's has posted a GAA of 1.79 and a .690 save percentage. Netto has notched one shutout so far this season.
Looking at Iowa
The Hawkeyes currently lead the Big Ten with a record of 7-1, most recently defeating Missouri State, 10-2. Iowa had eight different players score in the win. Sophomore Kim Scraper leads the Hawkeyes and the Big Ten in both points and goals scored. The forward has notched 14 goals so far this season and has tallied an assist for a total of 28 points.
Figuring out the Golden Flashes
The Kent State Golden Flashes are 2-6 so far this season, They are led offensively by Debbie Bell who has scored seven goals and recorded one assist. Goaltender Jahana Jordon has anchored the Golden Flashes' defense, posting 46 saves in the eight games she has played in.
Kent State Connection
Head coach Helen Knull welcomes her alma mater on Sunday when Kent State visits the Spartans. Knull played for the Golden Flashes from 1999-2002 where she was a four-year starter, two year captain and a two-time All-American. As a senior, Knull was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. Prior to joining the staff at MSU, Knull served as an assistant coach for two years and as an associate head coach during the 2005 season. She was inducted into the Kent State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
Home Sweet Home
The Spartans host their first home game this season on Sunday, Sept. 25th against Kent State at 1 p.m. It will be MSU?s first appearance in East Lansing after playing ten straight games on the road. The Spartans have traveled to Louisville, Ky., Boston, Mass., Oxford, Ohio and Providence R.I. since the beginning of their season. Prior to returning back home at the end of the week, the Green and White will travel a short ways to visit Central Michigan on Wednesday and then hit the road again to visit Iowa on Friday.
Spread-Out Scoring
The Spartans have had goal contributions from nine different players so far this season. Freshman forward Abby Barker leads MSU with three goals and one assist. Two out of her three goals have been game-winners. Freshman Allie Ahern, redshirt sophomore Elizabeth Helffrich and redshirt junior Chelsy Coil each have scored twice for MSU. Helffrich notched her two goals more recently against Virginia and Miami.
Coil scored both of her goals in the Spartans' first weekend of play. She scored once against California and again the following day against Louisville. Ahern was quite the contributor on offense in her first four games as a Spartan. The forward notched the only goal for the Spartans against Boston University, and also scored the game-tying goal against California, sending the match into overtime.
Tough Defense
Junior midfielder Adelle Lever leads the defense with two defensive saves, both which she recorded against Boston University and Northeastern. Redshirt senior Angie Lucik also tallied a defensive save against the Huskies. Redshirt junior Corey Block has also notched a defensive save.
Redshirt sophomore goaltender Molly Cassidy leads the Big Ten in saves per game with an average of 6.62 per contest. She also leads the conference in total saves, with 53 in eight games. Cassidy has a GAA of 3.34 and a save percentage of .716.
Next Up
The Spartans stay at home next weekend welcoming both Northwestern and New Hampshire. The contest against conference opponent Northwestern will be aired on BigTenNetwork.com at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29th.
