Field hockey loses in rainstorm, 3-0

---

Tweet

Battling heavy rainfall and a 15-minute delay due to inclement weather, the MSU field hockey team fell to the visiting No. 16 Northwestern Wildcats, 3-0 in its Big Ten home opener Thursday at Ralph Young Field.

The Spartans (5-7 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) played out a tale of two teams, attacking the goal aggressively and controlling the tempo throughout the first half and letting up three goals in the second after both teams returned from the short rain delay.

MSU was able to control the ball for much of the first half but was unable to capitalize on good offensive positioning. Northwestern spent more time on its own side of the field but was able to outshoot the Spartans 6-4 in the first half. The Wildcats continued to play aggressively, eventually outshooting the Spartans 16-6 in the match. Sophomore goaltender Molly Cassidy did her best to stop the bleeding, recording eight saves, but the Wildcat offense proved too much for this young Spartan team. Northwestern forward Chelsea Armstong was able to crack through the defense for six shots by herself.

“We just let them run all over us,” senior back Angie Lucik said. “We didn’t stay on our marks, and we let them take shots. Thank goodness (Cassidy) did an amazing job holding it down back there.”

About 10 minutes into the second half, play was postponed while the Spartans were attacking offensively. When the game resumed, the Spartans crumbled, and Northwestern forward Regan Mooney scored on a penalty corner deflection, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats kept the Spartans on their heels, scoring once again on a goal from Armstrong, putting the Wildcats ahead 2-0 with 12:24 left to go in the match. Armstrong scored once more on a penalty corner from Mooney and midfielder Julia Retzky, in what would be the final score of the match.

“There’s no excuses really,” sophomore midfielder Katherine Jamieson. “We just have to play through all the obstacles thrown at us. Whether it’s rain, delays, we have to play 70 minutes. Not 35 or 45.”

The Spartans also had difficulty capitalizing inside the circle and only had four penalty corners to Northwestern’s 10. Two of Northwestern’s scores came from corner plays, while MSU had several chances on corners to put the ball away, only to be foiled by Northwestern goaltender Maddy Carpenter.

Head coach Helen Knull said the Spartans’ loss was a result of the snowballing momentum Northwestern accumulated after the break.

“Northwestern got their momentum, and we had trouble regrouping after that,” she said. “We stopped playing as a team and more as individuals. The good thing is we’ve got tomorrow and Sunday to get things together and get ready to play against New Hampshire.”

The Spartans will return to Ralph Young Field to take on New Hampshire on Sunday at noon.

---