Michigan State University Athletics
Ohio State Bumps MSU From Big Ten Tournament
11/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 4, 2005
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Third-seeded Ohio State bumped sixth-seeded Michigan State from the Big Ten Tournament Friday afternoon in Iowa City. The Buckeyes scored on the first penalty corner of the game and managed to cling to the 1-0 lead to oust the Spartans in round one. The Ohio State defense limited the Spartans to just three shots on the day.
At 12:12 into the game, OSU's Lucy Clayton zipped a ball from the top of the circle for her Big Ten leading 17th goal of the season. Ohio State out shot Michigan State on the day 15-3, with Clayton firing seven. Senior goalie Christina Kirkaldy tied a season high with nine stops for the Spartans. Senior forward Michelle Huynh-Ba, who scored two goals in State's 3-2 regular season win over OSU, drew much attention from the Buckeye defense.
"They played collapsed," head coach Michele Madison stated. "They had three or four players on (Michelle) Huynh-Ba the entire day. It was hard to get scoring opportunities and those we did, we weren't able to put it in the back of the net."
After a hard foul in the circle in the first half, it appeared as though MSU would be awarded a penalty stroke, but much to the Spartans' astonishment, no call was made.
Junior forward Ashley Pernicano was inches from tying the game in the second half, on an end line attack. Pernicano slipped by OSU goaltender Lindsay Williams but Jessica Gofgosky came up with a defensive save. The only other close scoring opportunity State had was on a penalty corner with less than three minutes left in the game but again, luck was not on Michigan State's side.
"They responded all year, I kept pushing them and pushing them, but we couldn't catch any breaks," Madison said about her team. "I didn't want them to give up and they kept responding. For that I commend them. They showed a lot of character."
With the Big Ten Tournament behind them, the Green and White now must await their fate for the NCAA Tournament, with selection on Tuesday. Ohio State advances to the second round of the conference tournament, facing second-seeded Indiana at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
