Big Ten Play Opens for Field Hockey

EAST LANSING, Mich. -

Date	Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018
Facility	Ralph Young Field
Webstream	BTN2Go
Live Statistics	Live Stats
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This Weekend's Action

Michigan State field hockey is set to open the Big Ten slate of their 2018 season on Saturday, September 15 with a 1:00 p.m. showdown against No. 3-ranked Maryland, who enters the contest with an unblemished 7-0 record. The Terrapins have defeated four-straight ranked opponents prior to meeting the Spartans, taking down Boston College, Duke, Delaware, and Harvard over the last two weeks. Michigan State is searching for its first win against the Terrapins, holding an 0-8 record against them all-time.

Last Time Out

Playing in their third consecutive overtime game, and fourth of the season, the Michigan State field hockey team fell to Pacific by a final score of 2-1 on Sunday, September 9 at Ralph Young Field. MSU out-shot the Tigers 24-14 overall and 14-8 in shots on goal. The Spartans held a sizable 17-8 advantage on penalty corners, scoring on one. Tied at one, both teams were scoreless in the first overtime period. Pacific broke through in

Scouting the Spartans

Isa van der Weij leads the team with eight points on the year (3g - 2a). Aisha Osinga has two goals and two assists. Maddie McDonough, Amanda Robinson, and Kelsey Keener all have two points on the season with one goal each. McDonough and Robinson each have a defensive save to their name. The Spartans rank No. 14 in the nation in defensive saves.

Lia Sinisi, Maggie Cole, Madison O'Neill, and Cara Bonshak each have an assist. Freshman goalkeeper Jade Arundell owns a 1.82 goals against average and a .741 save percentage through seven games. Arundell's 5.71 saves per game ranks No. 20 in all of Division I.

Michigan State is coached by Helen Knull, who in her eighth season holds an overall record of 65-83.

Scouting the Terrapins

Maryland ranks No. 5 in Division I averaging 4.14 goals per game. The Terrapins rank No. 1 in assists per game with 4.29.

Maryland has earned two weekly Big Ten honors to date with Nike Lorenz winning Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27 and Sarah Holliday winning Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4. Holliday ranks No. 13 in Division I with a 1.07 goals against average and No. 17 in save percentage (.765). Despite playing in just four games thus far, Lorenz is tied for the team lead in scoring with 13 points (6g - 1a).

Linnea Gonzales has six goals and one assist through seven games. Sabrina Rhodes leads the team in assists with six and ranks No. 7 nationally with .86 assists per game.

Head Coach Missy Meharg is in her 31st season coaching the Terrapins and has a career record of 551-134-9 to date.

Up Next

Michigan State opens a three-game road trip with a trip to Mount Pleasant, Michigan for a match against Central Michigan on Tuesday, September 18 at 4:00 p.m. The Chippewas are 1-6 on the season with a 1-0 victory over Saint Louis on August 26.