No. 20 Michigan State Heads East
10/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 20 Michigan State (5-4, 1-2) heads back on the road for a pair of games this weekend, starting with Rutgers on Friday at 3 p.m. and Monmouth and Saturday at 1 p.m. After two games at home last weekend, MSU enters the second half of a stretch that features nine road games in 11 contests.
The Spartans had the difficult task of playing two of the nation's top teams last weekend in No.7 Penn State and No. 4 Maryland. MSU played even with the two-time defending Big Ten Champion Penn State for most of the game, but the Nittany Lions scored two goals in two minutes to help escape with a 2-1 victory. On Sunday, No. 4 Maryland opened up a 4-0 lead before MSU scored two goals in the game's final six minutes, ending in a 4-2 loss for the Spartans.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams as members of the Big Ten, with the Scarlet Knights entering the weekend 4-5 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten.
MSU owns a 5-3-1 record all-time vs. the Scarlet Knights, having won the last five meetings. The last time the two schools met was back in 2009, when the Spartans won 5-0.
Rutgers is led by a balanced-offensive attack, with three different players having recorded four goals so far this season. On top of their four goals, Sofia Walia and Katie Champion each lead the team in assists with five and four, respectively. Shevaun Hayes has started every game in net for the Scarlet Knights, posting a 2.54 GAA and .707 save percentage.
Monmouth
The Hawks are 4-5 so far this season and have won two of their last three games. MSU and Monmouth squared off for the first time ever last season, with the Spartans winning 4-2 in East Lansing.
Trish O'Dwyer and Alyssa Ercolino lead the way for the Hawks with four goals each, while O'Dwyer has added four assists to lead the team in points, goals, and assists. Christen Piersanti will be the likely starter in net for Monmouth, and she holds a 2.30 GAA and .690 save percentage.
MSU Notes
Michigan State's 3.00 goals per game ranks third in the Big Ten and 12th in the nation. MSU is generating goals off good ball movement, recording an assist on 22 of 27 goals. The Spartans 2.44 assists per game are the 12th most in the nation, while the team's 8.44 points per game ranks 14th.
So far in 2014, the Spartans go as the offense goes. In MSU's five wins, the team is averaging 4.6 goals per game. In the team's four losses, MSU is averaging just one goal per game.
Michigan State has been putting pressure on opponents, firing 18.00 shots per game - ranking third in the Big Ten in that category.
The Spartans were recently on a three-game win streak in which they came from behind in every game. As the game gets going, so does MSU, as the Spartans are outscoring opponents 14-6 after halftime.
Abby Barker and Allie Ahern are the one-two punch that leads the offense this season. The two combine for 15 of the team's 27 goals and 39 of the 76 points.
Barker has been a force to be reckoned with early in the season, ranking towards the top of every offensive category in the Big Ten. Most notably, Barker ranks second in points (25), second in goals (9), and sixth in assists (7). Her seven assists this season surpass the total from her first three years at Michigan State combined. Nationally, Barker ranks fourth in points per game (2.78) and seventh in goals per game (1.00).
Allie Ahern's six goals are tied for the 10th in the Big Ten and her 47 shots rank second.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore Sierra Patton has had the tough task of replacing four-year starter Molly Cassidy in net this season. So far, Patton has made the most of her opportunity, recording 59 saves and ranking second in the Big Ten, while her 6.56 saves per game ranks 16th in the nation. As a team, the Spartans have recorded 66 saves, the most in the Big Ten.
Record Book Watch
Abby Barker is moving up the list for career points in Michigan State's record book. After starting the year in ninth place with 96 points, her 25 points on the season puts her fifth all-time with 121. Barker has scored 38 and 39 points in each of the last two seasons, respectively. If she can duplicate an effort like that in her senior season, she could end up as high as fourth place all-time.
Barker's 54 career goals rank fourth at Michigan State in that category. Nance Lyons (1975-78) sits in first place with 75, while Annebet Beerman (2001-04) is second with 61. Currently, Barker is chasing third place - Floor Rijpma's 60 career goals.
Playing the Best
So far this season, Michigan State has played four ranked teams, including three in the top 10. MSU's schedule features seven of the 20 teams that appear in this week's NFHCA poll.
Including the 20th ranked Spartans, the Big Ten has six teams ranked in this week's poll, including Maryland (2nd), Penn State (9th), Iowa (7th), Northwestern (11th), and Michigan (15th).
MSU will face four 2013 NCAA Tournament teams this season, including two of the four participants from last year's Final Four weekend (Maryland, and runner-up Duke). The Spartans face nine teams in their 18-game schedule that ended the 2013 season ranked in the top 25.
Up Next
Michigan State remains on the road next weekend to play Indiana on Saturday and Ball State on Sunday. Both games are 1 p.m. starts.
