Field Hockey Opens Home Season Wednesday

Sept. 2, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. -

Preview
Michigan State plays its first home game of the 2008 season on Wednesday against Stanford. The 10th-ranked Spartans look to improve to 3-0 on the season for just the eighth time in 27 seasons.

Last week
The Spartans opened play last weekend with the Champions Invitational Tournament hosted by Louisville. On Saturday, Michigan State recorded a 3-2 win over Delaware. Geraldine Raynor (Maronoera, Zimbabwe), Gwen Riley (Louisville, Ky.) and Floor Rijpma (Bunnik, The Netherlands) tallied goals in the win for the Spartans. Louisville posted a 1-0 win over Duke to meet Michigan State in the championship game. On Sunday Riley scored two goals and added two assists to help Michigan State to a 6-1 win over the 17th-ranked Cardinals. Freshman Chantae Miller (East Amherst, N.Y.) recorded her first collegiate goal in the win. Junior Elissa Unger (Reading, Pa.) made four saves in goal on the weekend for the Spartans. MSU captured the Champions Invitational Tournament for the third time in five years.

Scouting the Spartans
Riley leads the team in scoring with three goals and three assists for nine points. She also ranks first in the Big Ten in goals, points and assists. Raynor and Michelle Ciliberti (Louisville, Ky.) are second on the team in scoring with four points each. Unger ranks third in the Big Ten with a 1.93 goals against average and is fourth with a .571 save percentage.

Scouting the Cardinal
The Spartans hold a 5-2 all-time record against Stanford. The two last faced one another in 2005, with Michigan State posting a 3-0 win. Stanford is coming off a 3-1 loss to Drexel last Saturday. Sophomore Katherine Donner tallied the only goal for Stanford in the second period. Alessandra Moss started in goal for the Cardinal, making two saves. Freshman Beth Ridley played the final 50:55 of the contest, making nine saves in her collegiate debut. The Cardinal play three games in five days, beginning Wednesday in East Lansing. Stanford is coming off a 13-8 season in 2007, its first winning season in six years, and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2000 season.

Follow Along
Fans can follow Wednesday's game with