Field Hockey Welcomes Ohio to Ralph Young Field Friday

Friday, October 11

East Lansing, Mich.

3 PM ET

Michigan State University

Ohio

10/10/2019 3:08:00 PM | Field Hockey

BTN+Live Stats

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State field hockey team returns to action this weekend, when they take on Ohio and Wake Forest on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Spartans welcome the Bobcats to Ralph Young Field for a 3 p.m. matchup before hitting the road to take on No. 20 Wake Forest on Sunday in Winstom-Salem.

Tuning In
MSU vs. Ohio – Live Stats | BTN +

Quick Hits
MSU returns home after a recent three-game road swing against three top-10 teams. MSU then heads to Winston-Salem to take on No. 20 Wake Forest on Sunday.The Spartans are off to a 5-6 start to the 2019 season, with wins over St. Francis, Kent State, Ball State, Miami (Ohio) and UC Davis. Five of MSU's six losses have come to ranked opponents (No. 12 Louisville, No. 3 UConn, No. 7 Northwestern, No. 8 Iowa, and No. 9 Michigan. MSU is 0-4 in B1G play with a home loss to Indiana and three road losses to Northwestern,Iowa and Michigan.MSU leads the all-time series with Ohio, 14-2 including a perfect 9-0 mark at home. MSU grabbed a 3-1 win in their last meeting on Oct. 23, 2016 in East Lansing. Wake Forest leads the series, 9-2 over the Spartans.

Scouting the Bobcats
Ohio holds a 5-4 mark on the season with wins over Drexel, Davidson, Lock Haven, Appalachian State and Longwood.
The Bobcats have scored 22 goals on the season and are led by Kendall Ballard who has 15 points on five goals and five assists. Leah Warren adds four goals for Ohio.
Sophia Boothby has started nine games in goal for the Spartans with 37 saves and five wins.

All-Time Series: MSU leads, 14-2
Michigan State Streak: 12 wins from 1999 to 2010
First Meeting: Sept. 7, 1991
Last Meeting: Oct. 23, 2016
Last MSU Win: Oct.23, 2016 (3-1 in East Lansing)
Last Ohio Win: Oct. 11, 2015 (4-1)
Largest MSU: Win 7-0 (Sept. 24, 2004)
Largest Ohio Win: 4-1 (Oct. 11, 2015)

Scouting Wake Forest
Wake Forest holds a 5-6 record and a No. 20 national ranking. The Demon Deacons are led by Laia Vancells with three goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Isla Bint has three shutouts in 11 games, including 33 saves.

All-Time Series: Wake Forest leads, 9-2
Michigan State Streak: One win (Oct. 10, 2010)
First Meeting: Aug. 26, 2000
Last Meeting: Oct. 10, 2010
Last MSU Win: Oct. 10, 2010 (3-1 in East Lansing)
Last Wake Forest Win: Oct. 11, 2008 (2-1)
Largest MSU Win: 3-1 (Oct. 10, 2010))
Largest Ohio Win: 6-0 (Aug. 26, 2000)

Last Time Out
The Spartans fell on the road to in-state rival, No. 9 Michigan, 8-0, on Oct. 6. Sophomore goalkeeper Jade Arundell collected a career-high 15 saves in the loss, while freshman Nienke Bloemsaatt added her third defensive save of the year. MSU was outshot by Michigan, 35-1 in the loss.

Spartans in the Rankings
The Spartans cracked the top-25 of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll for four-straight weeks before falling out in the latest poll (Oct. 8)MSU opened the season at No. 25 and followed with rankings of No. 23 (Sept. 17), No. 24 (Sept. 24) and No. 24 (Oct. 1). MSU's No. 23 ranking was the highest since 2015 when they ranked No. 19 in preseason action.

Spartan Leaders
Junior Lia Sinisi leads the Spartans on the offensive side with six goals, while freshman Nienke Bloemsaat has added four goals, two assists and three defensive saves. Sinisi recorded her first career goal in MSU's season opener against St. Francis on Aug. 31. Bloemsaat has started in all 11 games for the Spartans as a defender, recording all four goals on penalty corners. Cara Bonshak leads the Spartans and is tied for fourth in the Big Ten in assists with six, while senior Kelsey Keener has three assists to her name. Goalkeeper Jade Arundell leads the Big Ten with 93 saves in 11 games. Her 8.5 saves per game ranks seventh in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten. Redshirt junior Maggie Cole tallied her first career goal in MSU's 7-0 win over St. Francis. Junior Meredith Ross and sophomore Aisha Osinga each have three goals for the Spartans. Osinga's three game-winning goals is tied for the lead in the Big Ten.

Balanced Attack
Six different Spartans have recorded a goal this season. Aisha Osinga, who is tied for first in the Big Ten with three-game winning goals, has three goals while Meredith Ross has recorded three goals and leads the team with 19 shots. Isa van der Weij, who led the Spartans in scoring last season as a freshman, has two goals and one assist. Maggie Cole, a redshirt junior from Chelsea, Mich., recorded her first career goal in MSU's 7-0 win over St. Francis. Freshmen Merel Hanssen and Celina Riccardo have seen significant playing time early for the Spartans. Riccardo has started in all 11 games, while Hanssen has played in all 11 and started five.

Freshman Sensation
Freshman defender Nienke Bloemsaat is off to a blistering start in her freshman campaign. Bloemsaat has started in all 11 games for MSU at the back position. Bloemsaat, from The Netherlands, has been key on the defensive side for the Spartans where she has collected three defensive saves. Offensively, Bloemsaat has compiled four goals on seven shots on goal, all of them from penalty corners. Bloemsaat three defensive saves are the most among Big Ten players, while the teams four total defensive saves rank No. 10 in the NCAA.

Tough Schedule
MSU has faced five opponents that currently rank inside the top-15, including No. 5 Louisville, No. 3 UConn, No. 8 Northwestern, No. 6 Iowa and No. 11 Michigan. (Oct. 8 poll). Four of MSU's next seven opponents are currently ranked inside the top-25 of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll rankings, including No. 20 Wake Forest, No. 19 Rutgers, No. 2 Maryland and No. 18 Ohio State (Oct. 8 poll). Six Big Ten opponents are ranked, including (8) Northwestern, (6) Iowa, (11) Michigan, (19) Rutgers, (18) Ohio State and (3) Maryland. Of the six, the Spartans play host to Rutgers (Oct. 20) and Ohio State (Nov. 2). MSU also faces No. 20 Wake Forest on Oct. 13 in Winstom- Salem and travels to No. 2 Maryland on Oct. 25.

Lia's Breakout Season
Junior forward Lia Sinisi leads the offensive charge for the Spartans with six goals in 11 games. Sinisi has recorded the game-winning goal in two games for the Spartans. Her first came against UC Davis in double overtime. Sinisi, from North Caldwell, N.J. and West Essex High School scored her first career goal in the 2019 season opener against St. Francis and finished with two on the day. She came into her junior campaign with zero goals and three assists in her first two seasons.

Arundell on Top
Sophomore goalkeeper Jade Arundell leads the Big Ten with 93 saves in 11 games (8.5 spg) in goal for the Spartans. Her 8.5 saves per game rank fifth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten. Indiana goalkeeper Sachi Ananias is second in total saves with 72 on the season. Arundell, who compiled 122 saves last year in her freshman season, recorded a career-high 15 saves on Oct. 6 at No. 9 Michigan. Arundell compiled 41 saves over a three-game span against No. 7 Northwestern, No. 8 Iowa and No. 9 Michigan. Arundell's .750 save percentage ranks 3rd in the Big Ten and ranks 19th in the NCAA. Arundell's 8.5 saves per game lead the Big Ten and her two shutouts are tied for fourth