Spartans Open Big Ten Play at Home with Indiana

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State field hockey wraps up its six-game homestand this weekend with a pair of matches against Indiana and Ball State at Ralph Young Field.

The Spartans open Big Ten play against the Hoosiers on Friday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. and follow with a matchup against Ball State on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 11:30 a.m.

Scouting the Hoosiers

Indiana begins the season with a 3-3 mark and wins over Drexel, Ball State and Saint Louis. Their losses came to No. 12 Louisville, Miami (Ohio) and Fairfield.

Mary Kate Kesler (three goals), Hailey Couch (two goals) and Savannah Bucher (two goals) lead the Hoosier offense. Kelsey Giese has three assists and a team-leading nine shots on goal. Goalkeeper Sachi Ananias is 3-3 in the cage with 31 saves.

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Indiana, 23-5, including a perfect 10-0 mark at home. MSU knocked off the Hoosiers, 3-2 (ot), in the first round of last year's Big Ten tournament in College Park, Md. behind two goals from Meredith Ross.

Scouting Ball State

Ball State is off to a 2-5 start to the 2019, with wins over Davidson and Saint Louis. The Cardinals are led by Sierra Jefferson and Michelle Shampton with three goals each, while Abby Ferenczy has tallied two assists. Ball State has used three goalies this season and are led by Wietsk Overdijkink who has played in three games and holds a 2-1 record. The freshman has only allowed two goals to go with 17 saves on the season.

Ball State has the edge in the all-time series, 9-13-2. The Cardinals won the last meeting on Oct. 21, 2016, 3-2, in East Lansing.

Last Time Out

The Spartans (4-2) split a pair of home games this past weekend. MSU used a game-winning goal from Aisha Osinga in a sudden victory shootout to knock of Miami (Ohio), 3-2, on Sept. 13. Lia Sinisi and Osinga recorded goals in the win. MSU hung tight with No. 3-UConn on Sept. 15, before falling 2-0 to the Huskies.

Spartans in the Rankings

The Michigan State field hockey team entered the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll rankings for the second-straight week on Sept. 17, coming in at No. 23.

The ranking is the highest for the Spartans since 2015, when they opened the season at No. 19. MSU ranked No. 25 in the Sept. 10 poll.

Spartan Leaders

Junior Lia Sinisi leads the Spartans in scoring with four goals, including a pair of goals in the season opener against St. Francis. Freshman Nienke Bloemsaat has started all six games and has eight points on three goals, two assists and a defensive save. The Oosterhout, The Netherlands, native has scored in three of six for the Spartans with five shots on goal. Cara Bonshak leads the Spartans with four assists, while senior Kelsey Keener has three assists to her name. Goalkeeper Jade Arundell is 4-2 in the cage for the Spartans and a Big Ten best 42 saves.

Redshirt junior Maggie Cole tallied her first career goal in MSU's 7-0 win over St. Francis. Isa van der Weij (two goals), Meredith Ross (one goal) and Aisha Osinga (two goals) round out the scoring for the Spartans.

Arundell Lands Big Ten Defensive Player of the 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.

After MSU's two home games this weekend, the Spartans are on the road for four of its next five.

Tough Schedule

After MSU's two home games this weekend, the Spartans are on the road for four of its next five.

Eight of MSU's next ten opponents are currently ranked inside the top-25 of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll rankings.

Seven Big Ten opponents are ranked, including (11) Northwestern, (8) Iowa, (9) Michigan, (21) Rutgers, (12) Ohio State, (24) Penn State and (3) Maryland. Of the seven, the Spartans play host to Penn State (Oct. 18), Rutgers (Oct. 20) and Ohio State (Nov. 2).

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Players Mentioned

Jade Arundell

Nienke Bloemsaat

Cara Bonshak

Maggie Cole

Kelsey Keener

Meredith Ross

Lia Sinisi

Isa van der Weij