Spartans Hit the Road for Two Top-10 Matchups

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State field hockey team hits the road for three of its next four games, including a pair of Big Ten contests this weekend (Sept. 27, Sept. 29) in Evanston and Iowa City.
The Spartans (5-3) are set to take on No. 7 Northwestern on Friday at 4 p.m. EST and follow with a trip to Iowa City to take on No. 8 Iowa on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.

Scouting the Wildcats
The No. 7-ranked Wildcats are off to a blistering 8-2 start and have wins over four ranked opponents. Northwestern have ranked wins over No. 21 Stanford, No. 13 Boston College, No. 15 Wake Forest and No. 12 Ohio State. Their losses came to No. 3 Duke and No. 4 UConn.

Bente Baekers leads the Wildcats with a Big Ten best 14 goals on 46 shots. Kirsten Mansfield and Kayla Blas lead the Big Ten in assists with nine and eight, respectively. This will be the 66th meeting between the two, with Northwestern holding a 41-24
advantage. The Spartans fell, 2-0, in their last meeting on Sept. 30 in East Lansing.

Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa sports a 5-2 record with wins over No. 10 Wake Forest, Central Michigan (11-0), Kent State, California and Columbia. Their two losses came to No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Duke.
Katie Birch leads the team in both goals (5) and assists (5). Maddie Murphy adds four goals and four assists, while Sophie Sunderland has five goals for the Hawkeyes. Leslie Speight is 5-2 in goal for Iowa with 17 saves.
Iowa and MSU meet for the 67th time on Sunday, with Iowa holding a 51-15 advantage. MSU fell in 4-0 last season on Sept. 28, 2018 in Iowa City.

Last Time Out
MSU wrapped up its six-game homestand this past weekend, where they split a pair of matches with Big Ten foe Indiana and Ball State. The Spartans' late rally against the Hoosiers fell short on Friday, Sept. 20, falling 4-2 at Ralph Young Field. MSU answered with a 3-1 win over Ball State on Sunday, Sept. 22.

Spartans in the Rankings
The Michigan State field hockey team entered the Penn Monto/ NFHCA Coaches Poll rankings for the third-straight week on Sept. 24, coming in at No. 24. The ranking is the highest for the Spartans since 2015, when they opened the season at No. 19. MSU ranked No. 25 in the Sept. 10 poll and No. 23 in the poll on Sept. 17.

Spartan Leaders
Junior Lia Sinisi leads the Spartans on the offensive side with five goals, while freshman Nienke Bloemsaat has added four goals in eight games. Sinisi recorded her first career goal in MSU's season opener against St. Francis on Aug. 31. Bloemsaat has started in all eight games for the Spartans as a defender, recording all four goals on penalty corners. Along with two assists, Bloemsaat has one defensive save on the season. Cara Bonshak leads the Spartans and is third in the Big Ten in assists with six, while senior Kelsey Keener has three assists to her name. Goalkeeper Jade Arundell is 5-3 in the cage for the Spartans and has a Big Ten-best 52 saves in eight games. Redshirt junior Maggie Cole tallied her first career goal in MSU's 7-0 win over St. Francis. Junior Meredith Ross has scored in the last two games for the Spartans, moving her goal total to three on the year. Sophomore Aisha Osinga

Tough Schedule
MSU hits the road for three-straight away games beginning Friday, Sept. 27 with No. 7 Northwestern. After Friday, the Spartans travel to No. 7 Iowa on Sept. 29 and take on in-state rival Michigan (No. 9) on Oct. 6 in Ann Arbor. Seven of MSU's next nine opponents are currently ranked inside the top-25 of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll rankings. Six Big Ten opponents are ranked, including (7) Northwestern, (8) Iowa, (9) Michigan, (18) Rutgers, (14) Ohio State and (3) Maryland. Of the six, the Spartans play host to Rutgers (Oct. 20) and Ohio State (Nov. 2). MSU also faces No. 21 Wake Forest on Oct. 13.

Spartan Returners
Michigan State returns three of its top four scorers from last year's squad. The Spartans are led by van der Weij, who led MSU in multiple statistical categories a season ago. A native of Bussum, The Netherlands, van der Weij finished the 2018 season with a team-best 11 points on four goals scored. Junior Meredith Ross (3 goals) and Osinga (2 goals) return at the forward position for MSU and join nine Spartans who made at least one start from last year's team. Arundell, who started all 20 games in the net last season, returns after compiling 122 saves during her freshman campaign. MSU welcomes six freshmen to the 2019 team: Celina Riccardo (Dowington, Pa.), Bloemsaat (Oosterhout, The Netherlands), Hannah Jarvie (Saline, Mich.), Devin Reilly (Saline, Mich.), Merel Hanssen (Boxmeer, The Netherlands) and Valerie Radvany (Lawrenceville, N.J.).

Lia's Breakout Season
Junior forward Lia Sinisi leads the offensive charge for the Spartans with five goals in seven games. Sinisi has recorded the game-winning goal in two games for the Spartans. Her first came against UC Davis in double overtime. Sinisi, from North Caldwell, N.J. and West Essex High School scored her first career goal in the 2019 season opener against St. Francis, and finished with two on the day. She came into her junior campaign with zero goals and three assists in her first two seasons.

Arundell on Top
Sophomore goalkeeper Jade Arundell leads the Big Ten with 52 saves in six games (6.5 spg) in goal for the Spartans. Indiana goalkeeper Sachi Ananias is second in total saves with 37 on the season. Arundell's seven saves per game lead the Big Ten and her two shutouts are second behind Aaliyah Hernandez of Ohio State. Arundell's .788 save percentage is a Big Ten best and ranks 18th in the NCAA.

Arundell named B1G Defensive Player of the Week
Goalkeeper Jade Arundell was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3. Arundell, from County Kildare, Ireland, helped the Spartans to wins over St. Francis and Kent State on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Arundell played 60 minutes in both games and recorded 10 saves on the weekend. Arundell recorded two shutouts in the victories to move to 2-0 in the net for the Spartans. Arundell becomes the first Spartan to take home Defensive Player of the Week honors since Jenni Smith in 2013. Van der Weij was the last MSU player to earn Big Ten weekly honors, when she was named Freshman of the Week on Aug. 27, 2018.

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Players Mentioned

Jade Arundell

Nienke Bloemsaat

Cara Bonshak

Maggie Cole

Merel Hanssen

Hannah Jarvie

Kelsey Keener

Valerie Radvany

Devin Reilly

Celina Riccardo

Meredith Ross

Lia Sinisi