Field Hockey Ready For Final Four
11/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
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Nov. 20, 2002
SPARTANS ADVANCE TO FINAL FOUR
With a dramatic 2-1 penalty-stroke victory over Northeastern, the Spartans advance to the first NCAA Final Four in school history. Third-seed Michigan State will take on No. 2-seed Wake Forest at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 at Trager Stadium on the campus of the University of Louisville. The winner of the game will advance to the national championship game on Sunday, Nov. 24, to compete against the winner of the Old Dominion/Penn State game.
LIVE FROM LOUISVILLE!
The Spartans' NCAA Final Four game against Wake Forest on Friday, Nov. 22, will be broadcast live on msuspartans.com. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
MICHIGAN STATE SLIPS BY HARVARD
The Spartans edged past host Harvard on Nov. 16 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by a 4-3 score. Alexandra Kyser put the Spartans on the board first in the opening minutes and Michelle Huynh-Ba added another in the 22nd minute. Harvard answered after each goal, but Michelle Carstens and Cynthia Martin added two scores in the final minutes of the opening half to secure the game. The Crimson added a third goal in the last two minutes, after pounding 20 shots at the net, but Christina Kirkaldy stood strong in the cage, securing the victory for the Green and White.
MSU TOPS NORTHEASTERN IN NAILBITER
Michigan State defeated Northeastern, 2-1, in the Spartans' longest game of the season during the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. Judith van Haeringen converted a penalty corner shot from Jenny Sanders and Julia Adams to put the Spartans up by one in the 31st minute, but the Huskies answered just 63 seconds later. After the initial scoring outburst, the game remained deadlocked through the rest of regulation and two overtime periods. Julia Adams, Alexnadra Kyser and Annebet Beerman converted three of the four MSU penalty strokes to edge Northeastern and claim the win.
FIVE SPARTANS EARN ALL-WEST REGIONAL HONORS
Michigan State placed five student-athletes on the All-West Regional Team, named by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association on Monday, Nov. 18. Annebet Beerman, Christina Kirkaldy and Sophie Rosmalen were named to the first team, while Cynthia Martin and Judith van Haeringen earned second team accolades. The five Spartans were tied for the most players from a single school to be named to the All-West Region.
KIRKALDY HONORED AS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
For the third time this season, first-year netminder Christina Kirkaldy was named the National Rookie of the Week by womensfieldhockey.com. Kirkaldy was the last line of defense for the Spartans, who advanced to the Final Four with victories over Harvard and Northeastern. Kirkaldy posted five saves against the Crimson in the first round, while making six stops against the Huskies, including several one-on-one attempts. This is the second consecutive week that the MSU goalie has been honored with the award.
KYSER ALSO DRAWS NATIONAL NOTICE
Alexandra Kyser was also honored by womensfieldhockey.com, as one of four players to be named to the National Honor Roll. Kyser saw action on both sides of the ball against Harvard, scoring the first goal and earning two defensive saves and several takeaways. In the match-up with Northeastern, Kyser continued to pester the opposition, earning several more takeaways. She also converted her penalty stroke attempt to contribute to the Spartans' victory.
MICHIGAN STATE'S HISTORY IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
This is the second consecutive season that the Spartans have made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but this is their Final Four debut. In fact, this is the first NCAA Final Four appearance by any women's team in Michigan State history. Posting a 1-1 record entering this post-season, the Spartans slipped past the competition in Boston to improve their career NCAA post-season record to 3-1. MSU is now 2-0 in the opening round and 1-1 in the Elite Eight.
OTHER MSU NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Seven different Michigan State teams have been crowned NCAA champions through a playoff system, while 12 programs earned the title through a championship meet. The last Spartan team to win an NCAA National Championship was the men's basketball team in 2000. The 1976 softball team is the only women's team to win a national championship, as they claimed the AIAW crown.
Cross Country (1939-48-49-52-55-56-58-59)
Boxing (1951-55)
Soccer * (1967-68)
Basketball (1979-00)
Hockey (1966-86)
Gymnastics * (1958)
Wrestling (1967)
Softball # (1976)
* NCAA co-champions
# AIAW champions
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
Michigan State won the first Big Ten Tournament title in program history on Nov. 10, following a 3-0 shutout of Michigan. The Spartans, who entered the weekend with a 1-8 record in Big Ten post-season play, swept through the three-game series. MSU outscored the competition 9-2 and posted two shutouts. Annebet Beerman led the Spartans with five goals.
A NEW LEADER
Senior Julia Adams notched an assist on the Spartans' penalty corner goal in the first half of the thrilling 2-1 victory over Northeastern on Sunday, Nov. 22. With that helper, Adams became the program's all-time assist leader with 35, passing the previous record holder, Rayna Hiscox, who had 34 assists between 1994-97. Adams has accounted for 18 assists on the season, which is second on the school's single-season assist list.
A HELPING HAND
Michigan State senior Jenny Sanders is leaving her mark on the Spartan program. Sanders currently holds the single-season assist record, helping on 20 Spartan goals. She broke the previous record of 14 against Penn State in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament and has shattered it now, registering four more in three games.
LEND A HAND
In just two seasons, sophomore Judith van Haeringen has amassed 23 helpers for the Spartans to move into a fifth-place tie on the all-time assist list. She has registered 15 this season for third on the program's single season list. Between van Haeringen, Julia Adams and Jenny Sanders, the Spartans now hold the top three spots on the single season assist list, moving the previous record holder (Marleen Tuip-14) down to fourth.
NO. 3
The Spartans are ranked third in the final NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll. It is the highest ranking that MSU has ever received, tying a mark set by last season's squad. The Spartans spent seven weeks in fifth-place, but following the upset of No.2 Michigan on Nov. 10, Michigan State vaulted up two spots in the rankings.
ON A ROLL
Michigan State's victory over rival Michigan on Nov. 10 was the 11th consecutive win for the Spartans. The 11 straight victories, which began on Oct. 6, is the longest winning streak in program history, passing the previous record of 10 set earlier this season (Sept. 1-29). The Spartans continue to roll, bringing their winning streak to 13 games following a sweep through the NCAA first and second round tournament in Boston.
HISTORY MAKING DAY
November 10 is a day that will be noted in the Spartan field hockey record books, as Michigan State won the first Big Ten Tournament championship in school history. They also scored their 11th straight victory (which set a new program record for consecutive wins), by defeating intra-state rival Michigan for the first time since the 1997 season - a streak of nine games.
A SPARTAN STANDARD
Michigan State recorded its 18th win of the season against Ohio State on Nov. 2, setting a new program record for victories in a season. Michigan State has continued to add to that total, racking up five more victories at the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. The Spartans have now accumulated 23 victories this year. Prior to this season, the previous record was 17, set by the 1979 squad that went 17-8-2.
KIRKALDY AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
Sophomore Christina Kirkaldy remains one the top goaltenders in the national rankings, released on Nov. 18. The first-year netminder is second in the country in goals against average, posting a 0.778 average, allowing just 18 goals in nearly 1620 minutes of action. Kirkaldy is also second in the nation in saves percentage, posting a 0.845 mark.
LEADING THE WAY
Michigan State leads the nation in winning percentage. Racking up 23 wins and just two losses, the Spartans post a winning percentage of 0.920. MSU also ranks third in scoring defense (0.82) and margin of victory (2.73).
AWESOME ANNEBET
Annebet Beerman is ranked sixth in points (50) and seventh in goals (22) in the national rankings. The Maarssen, Netherlands, native is also ranked 11th in points per game (2.083) and 10th in goals per game, at 0.875 gpg.
"TRIPLE J" THREAT
The Spartans' assist machine of Jenny Sanders, Julia Adams and Judith van Haeringen are all ranked among the nation's elite. Sanders is listed as third in the nation (20), while Adams is tied for seventh (18) and van Haeringen is ranked 11th (15). When discussing assists per game, the trio is also mentioned. With an average of 0.800 helpers per game, Sanders is seventh in the country. Adams' 0.720 apg is good enough for 12th and van Haeringen is listed as 20th (0.600).
AND THEY KEEP MOVING ON
Michigan State's 23 wins are the most by any team ranked among the Top 20 teams in the country. The next nearest program is Old Dominion, who has posted 21 wins.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
The Spartans have six players that hail from outside of the United States. Seniors Julia Adams, Cynthia Martin and Jenny Sanders all call Canada home, while Annebet Beerman, Sophie Rosmalen and Judith van Haeringen are from the Netherlands. Together, the foreign representatives have accounted for some part of 76 of the Spartans' 91 goals this season. Adams, Martin and Sanders have registered 20 goals and 43 assists, while Beerman, Rosmalen and van Haeringen have scored 34 goals and 20 assists.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Michigan State's victory over Kent State on Oct. 23 wrapped up a perfect home slate this season. The Spartans went 10-0 this season. It is the fourth time in program history that the Spartans have defended their home turf, the last being 22 years ago. In 1980, Michigan State went 7-0. Prior to that season, the Spartans swept through the home schedules of 1974 (2-0) and1975 (5-0).
REACHING A MILESTONE
MSU head coach Michele Madison recorded her 100th victory on the Spartan sideline on Sunday, Oct. 20, as the Spartans shutout Ball State, 3-0. With the win, Madison improved her record to 100-98-2 in 10 years as the Spartans' head coach. She has added to that mark with eight more tallies in the 'W' column to post a 108-98-2 mark.
AND ANOTHER...
Spartan mentor Michele Madison collected her 150th career coaching victory on Saturday, Oct. 12, as the Spartans defeated Indiana, 5-1, in Big Ten action. In 14 seasons on the sidelines of both Temple (1989-1992) and Michigan State (1993-present), Madison has now tallied a 162-125-8 record.
FANTASTIC FROSH
Freshman Michelle Huynh-Ba leads the first-year Spartans with 14 goals and two assists for 30 points. She is tied with sophomore Michelle Carstens for second on the team in goals. Huynh-Ba, who is currently seventh in the conference in goals, is the Big Ten's leading freshmen scorer.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Second-year Spartan Michelle Carstens scored her first collegiate goal against St. Joseph's on Sept. 6. Since that day, the native of Edwardsville, Ill., has racked up 13 more scores to tie for second on the team in goals. A Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, Carstens has a shot percentage of .412, making her the second most accurate Spartan.
PUSH...STOP...SCORE!
The Spartans have scored 17 goals from the penalty corner this season, tallying two in a game on four different occasions. Jenny Sanders has been a mainstay in the stopper position, assisting on the last 16 goals from the penalty corner. Julia Adams is the standard pusher, standing at the baseline for 15 scores this season. Cynthia Martin has also joined in the fun, pushing in two. Annebet Beerman and Judith van Haeringen have been the final step of the three-part process, scoring for the Spartans in each successful conversion. Beerman has pocketed 10 goals (five during the tournament), while van Haeringen has garnered the remaining seven.
BLASTING BEERMAN
Although she has been playing with a broken index finger since mid-October, sophomore Annebet Beerman has scored 22 goals this season, vaulting herself into third place on the single-season goals list. Beerman registered multiple goals against Old Dominion, Pacific, Syracuse and attained a pair of double-goal games in the Big Ten Tournament against Penn State and Michigan. The Maarssen, Netherlands, native was the lone goal-scorer in three games and has pushed in nine-game winning tallies for the Green and White. She has accounted for eight assists on the year to bring her point total to a team-leading 50 points, good enough for third-place on the program's single-season points list.
SHOOTOUT
The Spartans have outscored their opposition 91-21 over the season, averaging nearly three more goals a game than the competition.
BREAKING IT DOWN
Michigan State has registered over 40 goals in each period this season (1st period - 49, 2nd period - 41) and one in a penalty shootout for a program-best 91 goals.
BY THE NUMBERS
MSU has outshot the opponents 467-248 this season, attempting 233 shots in the first half and 230 in the second. Michigan State has had to make just 114 saves on the season, while the opposition has needed to stop 198. The Spartans also hold a commanding advantage in penalty corners, registering 272 to the opponents' 134.
MAKE IT COUNT
Michigan State freshman Breanna Harpstead made her first collegiate start on Friday, Nov. 8, against Indiana. Harpstead registered her first assist in Michigan State's 12-1 rout of Rutgers on Sept. 18.
GOING OUT IN STYLE
Aside from being the program's new single-season assist leader, senior Jenny Sanders scored her first collegiate goal this season against Syracuse on Sept. 13. She followed it up with a second goal during the Spartans' Senior Day celebration against Kent State on Oct. 23.
