Abby Barker named field hockey co-Big Ten Freshman of the Week

Matt Radick | The State News

Freshman forward Abby Barker heads upfield past Northwestern midfielder Julia Retzky Thursday at Ralph Young Field. The Spartans were defeated by the Wildcats 3-0. Matt Radick/The State News

MSU field hockey freshman forward Abby Barker was named Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Week after anchoring the Spartans’ offense this past weekend. Barker split the honors with Penn State’s Laura Gebhart.

MSU (6-9 overall, 0-3 Big Ten) split its weekend games, beating Ball State 1-0 and losing to Indiana, 4-2. Barker scored all three of the team’s goals last weekend, bringing her to eight on the season.

The honor also marks the first of Barker’s career and the first Spartan to be awarded freshman of the week since now-sophomore goaltender Molly Cassidy won the award on Nov. 1, 2010.

Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Barker has made her presence on the field known as of late, notching five goals in the past three games. She has emerged as the team’s leading goal scorer and has 17 points on the season.

Barker will get a chance to continue her success against some familiar faces from her hometown when Ohio State comes to East Lansing to take on the Spartans on Friday at 3 p.m. MSU hopes to win its first Big Ten match of the season and a first Big Ten victory for rookie head coach Helen Knull.