Spartans Set for Big Ten Opener
9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Series Notes
• Michigan State will return to Ralph Young Field to face Ohio State in the Big Ten opener on Friday, Sept. 18. The home stand will continue as MSU welcomes UC Davis on Sunday, Sept. 20 for the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• BTN2Go.com will be broadcasting Sunday's contest against UC Davis. The broadcast can be found at http://www.btn2go.com/game/uc-davis-at-michigan-st-on-09202015
• The Spartans are 9-5 in Big Ten openers since 2000.
• The Buckeyes are 3-2 heading into conference play, tallying wins against St. Louis, Missouri State and Ball State, but falling to both Albany and Wake Forest.
• Sophomore Maddy Humphrey leads the Buckeyes with five goals and two assists, good for 12 points just five games into the 2015 season. Senior Peanut Johnson follows suit with four goals and two assists, tallying 10 points for OSU.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Liz Tamburro has started and completed all five games in the net for the Buckeyes, recording 24 saves on 43 shots faced. Tamburro has allowed eight goals this season.
• The Buckeyes went 6-12 overall and 1-7 against Big Ten opponents in 2014, finishing at the bottom of the Big Ten alongside Indiana.
• MSU assistant coach Jennifer Sciulli was a four-year varsity starter for the Ohio State field hockey team from 2008-2011 where she received many accolades. The record holder for most starts in a career, she was a First-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten selection her senior year. She was no stranger to success at Ohio State, where her team went 57-28 in her four years on campus, including being a member of the 2010 Big Ten Championship team which reached the NCAA semi-finals.
• UC Davis is 3-6 heading into Sunday's first-ever matchup with the Spartans, having recorded wins against Bryant University, Saint Louis and Fairfield. The Aggies are 1-3 on the road so far this season.
• Senior Jamie Garcia leads the Aggies with four goals and eight points over nine games. Junior Danielle Koehne has added one goal and three assists, good for five points.
Team Notes
• The Spartans went 1-1 last weekend in New York City, beating Quinnipiac, 3-2, but falling to Columbia, 3-2, to put MSU at 3-3 overall heading into conference play.
• Sophomore Kendal Anderson, junior Kristin Matula and junior Megan Fenton all found the back of the net for the Spartans last Friday, helping to a 13-3 edge over Quinnipiac in shots on goal.
• Michigan State fell to Columbia in last Sunday's contest in New York City. Sophomore Sophie Macadre and junior Megan Fenton both scored second-half goals for the Spartans, but the efforts came up short as Columbia held on to win 3-2.
• Against Columbia, Michigan State recorded 17 shots with 14 shots on goal while the Lions marked just eight shots and five shots on goal.
• MSU is led by Howie, who has notched two goals and two assists for six points this season. Senior Mallory Tyler, redshirt sophomore Lauren Bonness and Macadre follow suit, combining for 15 points.
• The Spartans have enjoyed depth in the lineup, with 20 athletes seeing the field so far this season. Fifteen of the 20 have appeared in all six games with 13 contributing points.
• The Spartans are tied for sixth in the Big Ten alongside Maryland heading into the conference play on a one game losing streak.
• The Spartans rank fifth in the Big Ten in shots (99), goals (19), assists (15) and points (53).
• Redshirt junior goalkeeper Sierra Patton has played all six games in net for the Spartans, totaling 420 total minutes with a 3-3 record matching the Spartans overall record. Patton ranks second in the conference in saves with 27 and third in the conference in saves per game with 4.5.
• Howie, Matula and Simone Vagnoni were named 2015 Big Ten Field Hockey Players to Watch, as announced by the conference.
• The Spartan field hockey posters, featuring all four seniors and the 2015 schedule, are available to be picked up in the Ticket Office at Jenison Field House.
• Big Ten play will progress next weekend as Michigan State heads to Penn State on Friday, Sept. 25 and Maryland on Sunday, Sept. 27.
• The Spartans are coming off of a 10-9 season in 2014, going 4-4 in Big Ten play and tying for fifth in the conference alongside Iowa. The Spartans fell to Penn State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
• Penn State went 16-6 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten in 2014, good for fourth in the conference and a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions fell to Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament after beating Boston College in the first round.
• Maryland came away as regular season conference champions in 2014, finishing 19-4 overall and 7-1 in conference play. The Terrapins fell to Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, but went on to beat Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Albany.
