Field hockey seniors anchor No. 8 squad

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For the No. 8 MSU field hockey team’s three seniors, this season is all about pushing a step further.

After qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 2007 and 2008 and falling just short of the Final Four, the trio would love to make one final run as a strong finish to their season and careers.

With one last chance and plenty of capable players around them, this year’s team has an opportunity to go out with a memorable conclusion to their careers.

“You want to go out in your senior year and go out with a bang and really go for it, and the opportunity is there,” senior midfielder Floor Rijpma said.

“We’re such a great team and we really deserve it.”

Rijpma, goalie Elissa Unger and midfielder Jeamie Deacon all have played key roles on the team since their MSU careers began.

Rijpma has finished in the team’s top three in points every year since she came to MSU in 2006. She is a key contributor MSU’s attack and was named First Team All-America last season.

Unger has been a mainstay in goal for the Spartans in the last three seasons and has been playing some of her best field hockey during the past few weeks.

Deacon led the team in points her first year with the team in 2007 and since has been a consistent scoring force.

“The senior class is the first class that I’ve coached as a head coach when they were freshmen, so they’ve been with me since the first day of taking over the program,” head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof said.

“They really have been part of MSU’s return to elite status as well as opportunities for Big Ten championships and chances for NCAA play.”

In the next few weeks, the 11-3 Spartans will compete for a Big Ten title, Big Ten tournament title and a potential NCAA tournament run.

And although they aren’t taking anything for granted, they know they’ve been tested against quality competition and control their own destiny.

The seniors will bear much of the burden and demand a high level of play from their teammates to make the extra push.

“Our first goal is we want to win the Big Ten, but you definitely have to take it one game at a time,” Deacon said. “We’re not relying on anyone else to do anything for us. We’re going to go out there and just do it.”

In field hockey, only 16 teams qualify for the NCAA tournament, since fewer schools have field hockey programs than most other sports.

Last season, the Spartans lost a heartbreaker against Big Ten rival Iowa in the second round, missing out on the Final Four by a slim margin.

This year, they hope to build off what they’ve done thus far and get back to where they finished last year.

“We all have our own individual goals and stuff, and ever since I’ve been here, for me, it’s been to win the Big Ten championship,” Unger said. “It’s exciting because we’ve got four more games left in the regular season and they’re all Big Ten games, and that’s what we look forward to.”

The Spartans’ road continues Friday at Iowa, where MSU could achieve some payback for last year’s season-ending loss.

The seniors agree the time is now to make their presence felt and carry the Spartans to a satisfying finish.

“We’ve talked about how each year we want to move forward — my sophomore year we made it to the first round (of the NCAA tournament), and last year the second,” Unger said.

“I think our goal each year has been to make it to the Final Four, and that is a real emphasis this year, but first and foremost is the Big Ten and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”

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