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Multitude of overtime games an early challenge for field hockey

September 23, 2014
<p>Sophomore goalkeeper Sierra Patton watches the action up field during the game against Maine at the Ralph Young field on Aug. 31, 2014. The Spartans defeated the Bears 5-4 in overtime. Jessalyn Tamez/The State News </p>

Sophomore goalkeeper Sierra Patton watches the action up field during the game against Maine at the Ralph Young field on Aug. 31, 2014. The Spartans defeated the Bears 5-4 in overtime. Jessalyn Tamez/The State News

Photo by Jessalyn Tamez | The State News

Last year, No. 16 MSU field hockey played 24 games as they advanced through the Big Ten Tournament and into the Elite Eight. Of those 24 games, five of them went to overtime. This year, MSU has played the same amount of overtime in just seven games.

The Spartans opened up the season with two straight overtime games, losing to Duke and then defeating Maine the following day. They lost to American 1-0 in double-overtime, and then beat Kent State in overtime in the very next game. In its most recent game, MSU came back against Ohio State and senior forward Abby Barker scored the game-winner in overtime.

The Spartans would certainly rather finish all of their games in regulation, according to head coach Helen Knull. Nevertheless, this team is willing to do whatever it takes to secure a victory and is embracing overtime mentality.

“We’re just ... getting in our flow of overtime,” Barker said. “I think we build our confidence with overtime.

“If it happens again, we’re going to have a lot of confidence going into it, because we know what we need to do to put in that game-winning goal.”

Knull reiterated what Barker had to say, and doesn’t have to change her coaching style when her team finds themselves in overtime.

“It’s something that obviously we’ve had a lot of experience in so far and we’ve won three of the five,” Knull said. “We know how we’re playing. We know our system, and we don’t panic.”

Whenever the Spartans do find themselves in overtime, it is usually after they mount a comeback. MSU has had some trouble playing a full 70 minutes of Spartan field hockey this year, and often times struggle during the opening minutes of games.

Whether it was falling behind early by two goals in the games against OSU and Kent State, or surrendering an early 3-1 lead against Maine in the matter of minutes. Knull knows her team has to improve their consistency, and is pointing to their overtime play as an example of how they need to play the whole game.

“We have got to find a way as a team to come out with that same tenacity and same aggressive mindset from the first whistle,” Knull said. “You know, we’re down 3-0 from the start of the game versus going down by two and having to play catch-up. That’s something as a team I think we’ve got to improve on and continue to work on for the rest of the season.”

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