Two Big Ten Opponents On Tap for MSU
10/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State field hockey team will take on two Big Ten opponents this weekend, starting on Friday vs. Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. at 3 p.m. The Spartans then return home to take on Indiana on Sunday at Ralph Young Field at 1 p.m. Both games will stream live on BTN Plus.
MSU enters the weekend with a 5-8 overall record and 1-3 mark in Big Ten play and are looking to stop a four-game losing skid.
MSU Notes
• Senior Megan Fenton and junior Kendal Anderson lead the Spartans in scoring and both are tied for fifth in the conference with 10 goals on the season. Anderson also ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 27 points, while her seven assists are tied for seventh on the conference leaderboard.
• With 27 points through 13 games, Anderson's 2.08 points per game are the fifth most in the Big Ten.
• MSU has gotten production from up and down the lineup, as 12 different Spartans have registered a point, while nine different players have tallied goals. Four Spartans currently have more than 15 points on the season.
• Katie Miller is the likely keeper in net having started in 10 of 13 games this season. The junior owns a 2.83 GAA and .631 save percentage, while her 3.70 saves per game is the fourth best average in the Big Ten.
• Senior captain Kristin Matula scored her sixth goal of the season last Sunday vs. American. The six goals are a new career high and gave her 15 points on the season, which is also a career high.
• Matula has been a consistent contributor in her four years in the Green in White, playing in 73 games in her career. The next most career appearances on the team are Kendal Anderson's 51.
• After leading the Spartans' offense last season, Sophie Macadré is having another productive season, as she is third on the team in scoring with a 5-6-16 scoring line. She also leads the team with two game winning goals.
• Senior Addie Donaldson has started in all 13 games for the Spartans and has scored one goal to go along with three assists. She also leads the team with two defensive saves on the season.
Rutgers
Rutgers is 7-5 on the year and 1-3 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights have a balanced offensive attack, as six different players have registered double-digit points so far this season. Nikki Santore leads the way with 18 points, while Linde van Schaik has 16. The two also lead the team with seven goals each.
The Spartans own a 7-3-1 lead in the all-time series and have won both games since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten. Both contests featured one-goal games, including last year's 5-4 double overtime victory by MSU in East Lansing.
Indiana
Indiana enters the weekend with a 7-7 record overall and 2-2 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers will face No. 12 Michigan on Friday night at home before heading to East Lansing.
Hoosier goalie Noëlle Rother is the current Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after her efforts against two top-15 teams last weekend. In Indiana's game vs. No. 6 Northwestern, Rother tallied 10 saves along with the corner defense that thwarted all eight of the Wildcats' penalty corners. Rother followed that with a seven-save outing against No. 14 Boston College, and again stopped the Eagles on their 12 penalty corner tries.
Rother's 76 saves lead the Big Ten heading into the weekend, but her 3.05 GAA is the worst in the conference.
On the offensive side, IU is led by Kate Barber who is tied for the league lead with 15 goals, while her 34 points are the third most in the Big Ten. Maddie Latino leads the team in assists with eight to rank tied for fifth in the conference.
The Spartans own a 19-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, with MSU holding a 3-2 edge under Helen Knull.
Home Sweet Home
The Spartans play 12 of their 19 regular season games from the comfort of Ralph Young Field, the most homes games in a season in school history. So far this season, MSU is 4-4 at home, compared to 0-4 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games.
The Spartans' 19-game regular season schedule features six road games and one neutral site game in addition to the 12 home games. MSU has 11 non-conference games to go along with an eight-game Big Ten slate. The Spartans face a competitive schedule in 2016, as nine opponents finished in the top 30 RPI last season, including five 2015 NCAA Tournament qualifiers (Kent State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Stanford).
Strength of Schedule
This week's NFHCA Coaches Poll features eight teams that appear on Michigan State's schedule. The Spartans have already played Penn State (No. 5), Maryland (No. 6), Louisville (No. 7), Michigan (No. 12) and American (No. 25). Still on the schedule are No. 9 Northwestern, No. 15 Stanford and No. 16 Iowa.
Spartan Roster Breakdown
MSU is led by seven seniors, and returns eight players who saw action in all 19 games last season. The Spartans roster also features six juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen. Six underclassmen have played in more than 10 games so far this season for Michigan State.
Junior forward Sophie Macadré led the team in goals, assists and points, finishing with a scoring line of 7-5-19 in 2015. Senior Megan Fenton was second on the team with six goals, while classmate Kristin Matula finished third on the team with 14 points. Redshirt senior Sierra Patton and junior Katie Miller both return as goalkeepers with starting experience, as the two split time in net last season.
Up Next
The Spartans will head to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes on Friday, Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. MSU then returns home and welcomes the Ohio Bobcats to town for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday, Oct. 23.
