No. 25 Spartans Continue Homestand with Miami (Ohio), UConn

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State field hockey team continues a six-game homestand this Friday and Sunday when they play host to Miami (Ohio) and No. 3 UConn.

The Spartans will take on the Redhawks at 3 p.m. Friday, followed by an 11 a.m. Sunday matinee matchup with the No.3-ranked Huskies. Both games will be played at Ralph Young Field.

Spartans in the Rankings

The Michigan State field hockey team jumped into the Top-25 of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll for the week of Sept. 10.

MSU enters the NFHCA Coaches Poll for the first time since 2015, after a 3-1 start to the 2019 season and wins over St. Francis, Kent State and UC Davis.

Spartan Leaders

Freshman Nienke Bloemsaat leads the Spartans with eight points on three goals, along with two assists. The Oosterhout, The Netherlands, native has scored in three of four games for the Spartans with four shots on goal. Sinisi has tacked on three goals for MSU, including a pair of goals in the season opener against St. Francis. Cara Bonshak leads the Spartans with four assists, while senior Kelsey Keener has three assists to her name. Goalkeeper Jade Arundell is 3-1 in the cage for the Spartans with 25 saves.

MSU has seen a balanced scoring attack in its first four games, with six different players recording goals. Sinisi, along with redshirt junior Maggie Cole, tallied their first career goals in MSU's 7-0 win over St. Francis. Isa van der Weij (two goals), Meredith Ross (one goal) and Aisha Osinga (one goal) round out the scoring for the Spartans

Scouting the Redhawks

Miami (Ohio) is 2-2 on the year and coming off wins against Indiana and Saint Louis last weekend.

Their two losses came to two ranked opponents, No. 22 Albany (0-2) and No. 16 Delaware (1-2). Allie Grace Joyner leads the Redhawks on the offensive side with eight points on four goals scored. Five players for the Redhawks have scored a goal, while Kenzie Peterson leads Miami (Ohio) with two assists.

Isabelle Perese has started at goalkeeper in three games, while Rosie Kalis is 1-0 in her only start. Perese has tacked on 11 saves on the season.

Matchup History
Series: MSU leads, 15-7-1
Last Meeting: Oct. 21, 2018, Miami (Ohio) 4, MSU 0 (Oxford, Ohio)
Last MSU Win: Sept. 22, 2017 (3-2 in East Lansing)
Home Record: 8-1-1

Scouting the Huskies
UConn, who ranks No. 3 in the latest NFHCA Coaches Poll, have 12 goals on the season and are led by Marie Auer with eight points on four goals. Abby Goodherham and Sophie Hamilton have recorded two goals, while Antonia Tiedtke leads the Huskies with three assists. Goalkeeper Cheyenne Sprecher, who was named NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10, holds a 3-0 record in the cage with 18 saves and two shutouts. The 2018 Big East Freshman of the Year has allowed just three goals on 33 shots faced.

Matchup History
Series: UConn leads, 9-0
Last Meeting: Aug. 31, 2018, UConn 5, MSU 0 in Storrs, Conn.

Arundell Lands Big Ten Defensive Player of Week

Goalkeeper Jade Arundell was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3.

Arundell, from County Kildare, Ireland, helped the Spartans to wins over St. Francis and Kent State on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Arundell played 60 minutes in both games and recorded 10 saves on the weekend. Arundell recorded two shutouts in the victories to move to 2-0 in the net for the Spartans.

Arundell becomes the first Spartan to take home Defensive Player of the Week honors since Jenni Smith in 2013. Van der Weij was the last MSU player to earn Big Ten weekly honors, when she was named Freshman of the Week on Aug. 27, 2018.

NCAA Leaders

The Spartans rank inside the top-15 nationally in multiple categories. MSU is tied for fourth with a shutout percentage of .50. The Spartans rank eighth in the nation in assists with 2.75 per game, and 12th in points per game (8.25) and win percentage (.750).

Spartan Schedule

MSU's 18-game regular season slate includes 11 home games and seven on the road. The Spartans play host to five teams who rank inside the top-25 of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Preseason Poll. Eight of the nine Big Ten teams with field hockey are ranked inside the top 25.

Schedule highlights include: Home game against 2018 Elite 8 finisher and No. 4-ranked UConn on Sept. 15. Trips to No. 7 Michigan (Oct. 6), No. 2 Maryland (Oct. 25) and home meetings with No. 9 Penn State (Oct. 18), No. 19 Rutgers (Oct. 20) and No. 14 Ohio State (Nov. 2). The Terrapins finished as national runner-up last season at the Division I Field Hockey National Championship.

No. 25 Spartans Continue Homestand with Miami (Ohio), UConn

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Players Mentioned

Jade Arundell

Nienke Bloemsaat

Cara Bonshak

Maggie Cole

Kelsey Keener

Meredith Ross

Isa van der Weij