Field Hockey Set for No. 15 Iowa, Ohio
10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State field hockey team travels to Iowa City to take on the 15th-ranked Hawkeyes on Friday at 3 p.m. before coming home to square off with Ohio at Ralph Young Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Spartans are coming off a weekend in which they earned two Big Ten wins to improve to 7-8 on the year and 3-3 in the Big Ten. Friday's game will stream live on BTN Plus.
MSU Notes
• Junior Kendal Anderson leads the Spartans in scoring with 12 goals, tied for the fourth most in the conference. Senior Megan Fenton is second on the team and is tied for tenth place in the Big Ten with 10 goals this season. Anderson also ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 32 points, while her eight assists are tied for seventh on the conference leaderboard.
• With 32 points through 15 games, Anderson's 2.13 points per game are the fourth 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 earned her first career shutout in a 1-0 win vs. Indiana last Sunday after making a career-high 13 saves in a 4-3 win over Rutgers on Friday. The junior is the likely keeper in the net for MSU and she has started in 11 of 15 games this season. The junior owns a 2.55 GAA and .682 save percentage, while her 4.50 saves per game ties for the third best average in the Big Ten.
• Senior captain Kristin Matula scored her eighth goal of the season vs. Indiana to propel MSU to a 1-0 victory. She has now scored a goal in three straight games and her eight goals and 20 points on the season are both career highs.
• Matula has been a consistent contributor in her four years in the Green in White, playing in 75 games in her career. The next most career appearances on the team are Kendal Anderson's 53.
• After leading the Spartans' offense last season, Sophie Macadré is having another productive season, as she is fourth on the team in scoring with an 6-6-18 scoring line. She also leads the team with three game winning goals, which are tied for the second most in the Big Ten.
• Senior Addie Donaldson has started in all 15 games for the Spartans and has scored one goal to go along with three assists. She is tied with Hannah Ackers for the team lead in defensive saves with two.
Scouting Report
Iowa
The Hawkeyes own a 10-6 overall record and 2-4 mark in Big Ten play and enter the weekend as the No. 15 team in the country. Iowa owns a commanding 49-14-1 advantage in the all-time series. MSU has won two of the last three games in the series however and are 2-3 in the regular season vs. Iowa under Helen Knull.
Iowa is led by redshirt senior Natalie Cafone, whose 16 goals are tied for the most in the Big Ten. Cafone also has tallied eight assists, giving her a Big Ten-best 40 points. Melissa Progar leads the team and is tied for second in the Big Ten with 11 assists. Alexander Pecora is the likely keeper in net, and she owns a 1.94 GAA to rank third in the Big Ten to go along with her .685 save percentage.
Ohio
The Bobcats enter the weekend with a 6-8 record and are 3-1 in the MAC. Ohio will take on Kent State at home on Friday before heading to East Lansing. The Spartans have dominated the all-time series, as they have defeated the Bobcats in 13 of the 14 games played between the two schools. Ohio sophomore Kendall Ballard leads the team with 12 goals, earning the Bobcats 27 points this season. In addition to Ballard `s three assists, sophomore Emma Eggleston leads the team with her five assists that have helped the team score 30 points so far this season. Sophomore Alex Pennington is the likely keeper in net, boasting a 2.72 GAA and a .635 save percentage.
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. After taking on Iowa on Friday, MSU returns home for the final three games of the season. So far this season, MSU is 5-4 at home, compared to 1-4 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games.
Strength of Schedule
Friday's game vs. No. 15 Iowa will be the Spartans sixth game against a ranked opponent so far this season. This week's NFHCA Coaches Poll features eight teams that appear on Michigan State's schedule. MSU has already played Maryland (No. 5), Penn State (No. 6), Louisville (No. 7), Michigan (No. 12) and American (No. 19). Still on the schedule are No. 10 Northwestern and No. 18 Stanford.
Up Next
MSU wraps up the regular season with a pair of home games against ranked opponents. No. 10 Northwestern comes to Ralph Young Field on Friday, Oct. 28, for a 3 p.m. for the final Big Ten game of the season that will air live on BTN. No. 18 Stanford then comes to East Lansing to take on MSU on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m.
