Field hockey hopes to get back on track in weekend games

In the midst of a two-game losing streak, the MSU field hockey team will travel south to try and pick itself up out of a rut.

The Spartans (5-8 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) are still looking for their first conference win, and they’ll get another shot at it when they take on No. 14 Indiana on Sunday. But first they must face Ball State, who is coming off of a 6-5 victory against Miami (Ohio).

“Ball State is a feisty team that doesn’t give up easily,” head coach Helen Knull said. “They’re playing on their home turf and will be fighting hard to get the W at home. I think we have to be ready for an aggressive quick team that’s going to try and take advantage of our mistakes.”

Little mistakes have been the bane of the Spartans this season, as they could turn a reasonable 2-1 deficit into a 5-1 hole, like what happened against New Hampshire last weekend. In that game, the Spartans ended up losing 5-3, after two quick goals by freshman forward Abby Barker weren’t enough to bring MSU back into it. In their upcoming games, the Spartans will have to guard against making errors and coming out strong to assert their dominance early.

The Spartans have also struggled with scoring opportunities, being outshot 123-163 by opponents this season and only scoring 21 goals so far. But a strong match against Ball State might bump those numbers for the Spartans, as the Cardinals are being outshot 96-253.

“We’ve been working hard to get goals, and all the forwards seem to be tackling back and trying to get the 50/50 ball, which is a good thing,” freshman forward Allie Ahern said. “We’re also really trying to get our shots off in the circle because we haven’t been doing that this season.”

MSU’s biggest test of the weekend likely will be against Indiana, who is currently 5-0 at home. The Hoosiers will also have extra motivation since the game will be taking place on senior day. However, junior midfielder Christie Jones relishes the challenge.

“It’s always sweet to ruin someone’s senior day,” she said. “Especially since we’re on the road and been traveling all year, to get a Big Ten win on the road in that environment would be really important for us.”

The game against Ball State will begin at noon on Saturday, and fans will be able to track it via MSU’s Gametracker system. The match against Indiana will start at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network at 4:00 p.m.