Field Hockey Suffers Loss to No. 16 Penn State

Oct. 8, 2010

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EAST LANSING, Mich.-The No. 7 Michigan State field hockey team had their six-game home winning streak snapped when they fell to No. 16 Penn State, 4-1. It was the Spartans second straight Big Ten conference loss, which now puts MSU at 1-2 in the conference and 10-3 on the season.

Penn State (9-3, 2-1), wasted no time getting the game started; just 45 seconds in to the game, Kelsey Amy dribbled the ball off of a penalty hit into the right side of the circle and sent the ball flying into the far corner of the cage. MSU pressured the Nittany Lion defense for the next few plays and fought hard for two penalty corners.

At 15:08, there was a scramble in front of the cage and freshman forward Katherine Jamieson was able to pick up a rebound and sneak the ball past goaltender Alya Halus for her third goal of the season. Before the conclusion of the first half, Daneen Zug picked up the rebound off of a Penn State corner play at 30:19 and scored what would stand as the eventual game-winning goal.

The Spartans came out of halftime aggressive, and were able to pick up two penalty corners, but were unable to connect on either of them. At 55:18, Amy extended PSU's lead when she took the ball down the right sideline and into the circle to tally her second goal of the contest. Hannah Allison secured Penn State's third Big Ten victory at 66:27 when she dribbled into the circle and shot the ball high past freshman goaltender Molly Cassidy.

"Penn State was a good team coming to this contest, we knew that," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof. "Looking at ourselves, we improved our production and improved our quality of play we develop all over the field. We are knocking on the door. If we continue to knock on the door, it will open eventually."

Even though the Nittany Lions prevailed on the score board, Michigan State topped them in penalty corners, 10-5. The Spartans totaled 16 shots on the game compared to the 10 for the Nittany Lions. Senior forward Sabine van den Assem led the Green and White with four shots and Cassidy recorded a total of three saves.

The Spartans return to Ralph Young Field on Sunday when they host No. 11 Wake Forest at 1 p.m. The eight Michigan State seniors will be honored in a pre-game ceremony prior to the start of the nonconference match.