Field Hockey Wraps up Regular Season with No. 22 Ohio State

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State field hockey wraps up its 2019 season tomorrow, Nov. 2 with a Big Ten matchup with No. 22 Ohio State at Ralph Young Field.

Game time is slated for 1 p.m. and will air live on BTN-Plus.

The Spartans are 7-10 on the season, with wins over St. Francis, Kent State, Ball State, Miami (Ohio), UC Davis, Ohio and Central Michigan. Seven of MSU's ten losses are to ranked opponents (No. 12 Louisville, No. 3 UConn, No. 7 Northwestern, No. 8 Iowa, No. 9 Michigan, No. 20 Wake Forest, No. 18 Rutgers and No. 2 Maryland)

MSU looks for its first B1G win of the season this weekend, after an 0-7 start and losses to No. 7 Northwestern, No. 8 Iowa, No. 9 Michigan, Penn State, No. 18 Rutgers, Indiana and No. 2 Maryland.

Scouting Ohio State
No. 22 Ohio State comes into the contest with a 8-8 clip and a 2-5 record in conference action. The Buckeyes have just one ranked win on the season, over Boston University (9/2).
The Buckeyes are led in scoring by Mackenzie Allessie with 14 goals and 56 shots, while Clotet Alsina has collected nine goals with six assists on the year. Aaliyah Hernandez has four shutouts in goal for the Buckeyes with 67 saves and a 1.77 goals against average.

All-Time Series Ohio State leads, 38-24
Ohio State Streak 12 wins from 1992-1997
First Meeting Oct 15, 1976
Last Meeting Oct. 19,, 2018
Last MSU Win Sept. 24, 2017 (2-1 SO)
Last Ohio State Win Oct. 19, 2018 (6-1, Columbus)
Largest MSU Win 5-0, Oct. 31, 2003
Largest Ohio State Win 6-1 (Sept. 24, 2018)

Last Time Out
The Spartans traveled to College Park to take on No. 2 Maryland on Friday, Oct. 25. The Terrapins took a quick lead and never looked back, knocking off the Spartans, 5-1. Sophomore Aisha Osinga scored the lone goal for the Spartans in the loss.
The Spartans rebounded on Sunday, Oct. 27 when they defeated Central Michigan, 3-0. The Spartans used a season-high 36 shots on the afternoon and 14 penalty corners to defeat the Chippewas. Redshirt junior Jillian Mahon tallied her first goal as a Spartan in the win.

Spartan Leaders
Junior Lia Sinisi leads the Spartans on the offensive side with seven goals, while Osinga has collected six goals on the season with three game-winning goals, tied for first in the Big Ten. Osinga leads the Spartans with 43 shots, including 26 on goal.
Freshman Nienke Bloemsaat has added five goals, three assists and seven defensive saves. Sinisi recorded her first career goal in MSU's season opener against St. Francis on Aug.31. Bloemsaat has started in 15 of 17 games for the Spartans as a defender, recording all four goals on penalty corners. Cara Bonshak leads in assists with seven, while senior Kelsey Keener has one goal and four assists to her name.
Goalkeeper Jade Arundell leads the Big Ten with 134 saves in 17 games. Her 8.0 saves per game ranks sixth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten. Meredith Ross comes in to the weekend with three goals and an assist. Redshirt junior Maggie Cole recorded her first goal in the Green and White in the seasonopener vs. St. Francis (Aug. 31).

Tough Schedule
MSU has faced five opponents that currently rank inside the top-10, including No. 5 Louisville, No. 3 UConn, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Iowa, and No. 2 Maryland (Oct. 29 poll)
Six Big Ten opponents are ranked, including (10) Northwestern, (9) Iowa, (8) Michigan, (18) Rutgers, (22) Ohio State and (2) Maryland.

MSU at the Top in Defensive Saves
Michigan State field hockey is among one of the nation's best in defensive saves with 10. Among the 67 teams with defensive saves, MSU ranks No. 4 in the NCAA. MSU leads the Big Ten in defensive saves. Bloemsaat leads the Big ten with seven defensive saves , good enough for second in the NCAA. Sophomore Maddie McDonough has been a heavy defensive presence with Bloemsaat on the back line of defense. McDonough has two defensive saves on the year, including a layout save against No. 20 Wake Forest on Oct. 13. Junior Cara Bonshak recorded her first defensive save of the season on Sept. 29 against No. 8 Iowa.

Balanced Attack
Nine different Spartans have recorded a goal this season. Osinga, who is tied for first in the Big Ten with three-game winning goals, has five goals while Meredith Ross has recorded three goals. Isa van der Weij, who led the Spartans in scoring last season as a freshman, has two goals and one assist. Maggie Cole, a redshirt junior from Chelsea, Mich., recorded her first career goal in MSU's 7-0 win over St. Francis. Freshmen Merel Hanssen and Celina Riccardo have seen significant playing time early for the Spartans. Riccardo has started in 16 games, while Hanssen has played in all 17 and started 10.

Arundell on Top
Arundell leads the Big Ten with 134 saves in 17 games (7.9 spg) in goal for the Spartans. Her 7.9 saves per game rank sixth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten. Indiana goalkeeper Sachi Ananias is second in total saves with 84 on the season. Arundell, who compiled 122 saves last year in her freshman season, recorded a career-high 15 saves on Oct. 6 at No. 9 Michigan. Arundell compiled 41 saves over a three-game span against No. 7 Northwestern, No. 8 Iowa and No. 9 Michigan. Arundell's .748 save percentage ranks 3rd in the Big Ten and ranks 17th in the NCAA. Arundell's four shutouts are tied for second.

Field Hockey Wraps up Regular Season with No. 22 Ohio State

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Players Mentioned

Jade Arundell

Nienke Bloemsaat

Cara Bonshak

Maggie Cole

Merel Hanssen

Kelsey Keener

Jillian Mahon

Celina Riccardo

Meredith Ross

Lia Sinisi

Isa van der Weij