Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State Field Hockey Ranked No. 1 In The Nation
9/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 14, 2004
Michigan State (7-0) field hockey was ranked No. 1 in the nation, earning 551 points and 15 first-place votes, the STX/NFHCA announced in its first weekly coaches poll released on Tuesday.
Michigan State captured the first-place ranking after an incredible start to the 2004 season. Not only are the Spartans undefeated, but they have scored five or more goals in all but two contests, while holding opponents to no more than two goals per game. Spartan junior goaltender Christina Kirkaldy has already posted two shutouts in 2004, marking 13 in her career.
"We are so excited to be recognized by the coaches poll as No. 1 for the 2004 season," said MSU head coach Michele Madison. "This is a credit, first and foremost, to the players and their ongoing commitment to do their very best every day because that is their primary goal. It is also a credit to the staff and to everyone who has ever played for MSU, everyone who has ever worked for it. I am just so proud to be a part of this team."
This weekend, the No. 1 Spartans will take on Kent State (3-2) on Friday, Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. before battling last season's top finisher defending NCAA Champion Wake Forest (6-1), in a Sunday, Sept. 19 contest at 1 p.m.
Madison notes that despite the Spartans' success, continuing such victory is no simple task.
"We are going to focus on a lot of things," Madison said. "Mainly, we want to hone in on cleaning up the small parts. We have the system down, so now it is a matter of taking care of the small parts that make the system better."
MSU boasts its most prominent winning streak since 1975, when the Spartans went 8-0 before posting a 1-1 tie against Central Michigan and a sudden victory loss against Eastern Michigan to end the season.
The University of Maryland (6-0) came in second with 532 points and six first-place votes, followed by the University of North Carolina with 508 points and four first-place votes. The complete list of top-20 rankings is available at www.nfhca.org and is also below. The next poll will be released on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
2004 STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll
Institution (record)*Points
1. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY (7-0)*551
2. University of Maryland (6-0) 532*(6)
3. University of North Carolina (6-0)*508
4. Duke University (5-1)*503
5. Wake Forest University (6-1)*490
6. University of Connecticut (6-0)*428
7. Old Dominion University (3-1)*358
8. Northeastern University (6-0)*347
9. University of Michigan (3-3)*322
10. University of Virginia (5-1)*268
11. University of Richmond (4-0)*241
12. Boston College (4-2)*207
13. American University (4-2)*198
14. University of Delaware (3-2)*192
15. University of California, Berkeley (7-2)*172
16. Harvard University (3-0)*111
17. Indiana University (5-1)*100
18. Hofstra University (5-2)*76
19. Northwestern University (4-3)*66
Tie. Penn State University (1-4)*66
