Michigan State University
Monmouth N.J.
Spartans Rally to Defeat Monmouth, 4-3 in Overtime
10/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
West Long Branch, N.J. - No. 20 Michigan State came from behind again on Saturday to earn its second victory of the weekend, downing Monmouth 4-3 in overtime to improve to 7-4 on the year.
Trailing 3-1 with 10 minutes remaining, the Spartans erased the two-goal deficit with two goals off penalty corners to force overtime. Senior midfielder Becky Stiles scored her third goal of the season in the extra frame to give the Spartans the 4-3 victory.
"We came back and got the win, however, Monmouth outworked us for the majority of the game," said head coach Helen Knull. "Once our mindset flipped and we started being aggressive and winning the 50/50 balls, we started to play Michigan State field hockey."
For the eighth straight game, MSU allowed the first goal of the game. As it has had to do in each of its last five victories, Michigan State came from behind to earn its fourth overtime win of the season. Goalkeeper Sierra Patton faced 13 shots in the opening period and made seven of her eight saves in the first half, and yet the Hawks still led 3-1 at the break.
The Spartans generated a majority of the opportunities in the second half, but it wasn't until 10 minutes remaining in the game that they started to carve into the lead. Allie Ahern cut the deficit to one off a penalty corner in the 60th minute with assists from Alli Helwig and Jenni Smith. Five minutes later, Barker tied the game up on another penalty corner with a deflection off of an Ahern shot in front.
Becky Stiles ended the game less than two minutes into the overtime and was the fourth different Spartan to record a goal on the afternoon.
Michigan State remains on the road next weekend to play Indiana on Saturday and Ball State on Sunday. Both games are 1 p.m. starts.
