Field hockey drops final two games of regular season

By Jesse O'Brien | Originally Published: 10/30/11 7:58pm |Modified: 10/30/11 9:17pm | No comments

Matt Radick | The State News

Junior back Corey Block hits the ball away from Stanford defender Kelsey Lloyd Saturday at Ralph Young Field. The Spartans were defeated by the Cardinal 3-0. Matt Radick/The State News

Capping off a tumultuous year, the MSU field hockey team lost its final two games of the regular season, falling 3-0 to No. 9 Stanford and 4-1 at No. 8 Penn State.

The Spartans (7-12 overall, 1-5 Big Ten) finished the season at the bottom of the conference and will receive the No. 7 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament next weekend. Barring a tournament championship, the Spartans likely will not make the NCAA tournament this year.

Against Stanford, the Spartans squandered several opportunities to score, frustrating the team on offense. MSU tallied 12 shots in the match, a vast improvement over last weekend’s 2-0 loss to No. 7 Michigan, in which the Spartans were unable to record a single shot. However, the Spartans couldn’t get any of them to go in, and despite sophomore goaltender Molly Cassidy’s 11 saves, the Cardinal’s were able to come away with the win.

“I think it’s a number of things, but we talked a bit about mental preparation,” head coach Helen Knull said. “I think, for some players, their mental prep wasn’t here and that showed in the game.”

For senior back Angie Lucik, the Stanford game also marked her final match at Ralph Young Field. She said although it was unfortunate to go out on a low note, her final home match had no affect on what her team had accomplished in her time wearing green and white.

“I’ve had an amazing five years here so I’m not going to dwell on one game,” Lucik said. “I know the team worked hard today, we had some mental breakdowns, which eventually led to the loss, but I’m proud nonetheless.”

Against Penn State, the Spartans fell into an early hole that they could not crawl out of. The Nittany Lions scored their first goal about 17 and a half minutes into the match and found the back of the cage only 45 seconds later building a 2-0 lead. Penn State continued to roll, scoring two more goals before going into the half leading 4-0.

It wasn’t until there were ten minutes remaining in the game that the Spartans were able to get on the board on a goal from sophomore midfielder Katherine Jamieson, her second of the season.

In both games, the Spartans showed they would fight until the final whistle, something that will be key as the team returns to University Park, Penn., on Thursday for the Big Ten tournament.

“It’s all heart from now,” freshman midfielder Becky Stiles said. “We’re the underdogs, we have to go as hard as we can and fight with our all.”