The No. 8 MSU field hockey team kept its successful season rolling with a pair of victories in Kentucky over the weekend.

On Saturday, a feisty Spartan offense demoralized Southwest Missouri State with an 8-1 victory. Senior midfielder Alexandra Kyser took home scoring honors for MSU (4-1), netting a hat trick during the match. Kyser leads the team in points with 14 (6 goals, 2 assists), already three higher than her 2002 totals. She has recorded at least one strike in each of the Spartans' games this season.

"Right now, Alex is focused and taking her game to a new level," MSU head coach Michele Madison said. "She controls the midfield just with her presence. She plays about 6 feet tall."

Junior midfield Veerle Goudswaard opened the scoring assault for the Spartans, blasting a pass from senior midfield Sophie Rosmalen into the Bears' cage just 3:14 into play. Three minutes later, Goudswaard assisted junior midfield Annebet Beerman for the game-winner.

MSU would strike again before SMS (1-4) could get on the board, this time off the stick of junior forward Michelle Carstens at 17:55. The Bears would counter less than two minutes later with forward Abbey Rolfe scoring their lone goal during a penalty corner.

Five of the Spartans' eight goals came off of corner plays, MSU holding a 10-3 advantage over its opponent during the penalties.

"I knew it was just a matter of practice and time and getting used to each other," Madison said of her corner team. "They know where the outlets are on the broken corners, and they're still able to get the shots off."

Freshman forward Ashley Pernicano collected her second goal of the season at 24:56 to send off Kyser's scoring onslaught.

Kyser notched back-to-back goals separated by the half to increase the Spartans' lead to 6-1. Sophomore midfield Jessica Miller would add a tally in the 51st minute before Kyser closed out the scoring with her third goal of the night.

On Friday, MSU battled to a 3-2 win over No. 15 Louisville (2-3).

Three Spartans were not allowed to start because of a minor team violation, but MSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead anyway, thanks to strikes from freshman midfield Jennifer Beeuwkes and Kyser.

Madison said though her team held a two-goal edge, the start of the match was much closer than it seemed.

"They started out pounding us and caught us off guard," she said. "Louisville took control right away for about five minutes, but the defense and (sophomore goalkeeper) Christina (Kirkaldy) held them off."

The early lead would prove essential as Cardinal midfield April White would notch unassisted back-to-back goals of her own to close out the half in a tie.

Madison said Louisville's second goal lit a fire under the Spartans, who dominated the match's second half.

"It was a pretty back-and-forth game, some changes of momentum before that point," she said. "But after the goal, I think the team stepped up their game and really dominated play.

"We were able to get the ball deep into their zone and their shooting circle. They played us very strong in the midfield and we had to adjust to find the open player. Once we got into the backfield, we were able to attack."

The game's final goal came at 48:23 off a penalty corner once again. The score was credited to Beerman, with assists from Kyser and Beeuwkes.