Coming into the 2014 season, MSU field hockey (10-9, 4-4 Big Ten) had high hopes.
A year removed from an impressive Big Ten Tournament championship and an Elite Eight run that saw the Spartans end Syracuse’s 45-game home win streak, MSU’s sights were set on improving on their 14-10 record in 2013. The year started off in the right direction with MSU winning seven of their first nine games, including two exhibition games, but the season became plagued with inconsistent play and an inability to finish close games. Still, the Spartans are proud with what they accomplished and the challenges they overcame.
“Overall, the season was pretty good,” senior captain Heather Howie said. “We had a few games that looking back we probably should have won, especially some of the ones in overtime.”
On the topic of overtime, MSU played in an unheard of five overtime games through their first seven games alone. They would go on to play just two more throughout the remainder of the season , possibly pointing to why MSU started off playing well and struggled through the last two-thirds of the season.
“I think it was a good season,” senior back Jenni Smith said. “There were a few close deciding games that could have gone either way. That’s just what didn’t sit with us.”
In the early parts of the season, MSU was playing highly competitive hockey, starting 5-2 by losing two overtime games and winning three more of them. The two early losses came to ranked opponents, Duke and American. There was reason to be optimistic for head coach Helen Knull , but things changed after those first seven games.
In arguably the Spartans’ most important weekend of the season up to that point, MSU welcomed No. 7 Penn State and No. 4 Maryland into East Lansing for a huge Big Ten tilt. MSU ended up on the wrong side of both games, losing 2-1 to PSU before dropping a 4-2 against the Terrapins two days later.
Even though MSU rebounded and won two games the following weekend, they were never able to regain the form that helped lead them to that 5-2 start. The true low point of the year came during the second week of October when Ball State, a team that finished 5-11 , handed the Spartans a devastating 2-1 overtime loss.
While the game was close, MSU should have handled BSU with ease. The previous year, MSU was able to beat the Cardinals 8-0 and furthermore, BSU played four other Big Ten teams in the 2014 season and lost all four games by a combined score of 18-3 .
Down the stretch, MSU finished the season 3-3 after generating big wins over ranked opponents Iowa and U-M. The two victories were focal points for Knull, using them as an example of what her team is capable of when they play “70 minutes of Spartan hockey.”
“We kind of picked up our groove and started to play our real game near the end before tournament time,” Howie said.
After closing out the regular season with another loss to Louisville, a ranked opponent, the Spartans knew, much like the previous season, the only way into the NCAA Tournament was to win the Big Ten Tournament Championship.
Holding the fifth seed in the tournament after finishing 4-4 in the conference, the Spartans were matched up with the Nittany Lions. Having being defeated by PSU earlier in the season, MSU knew what to expect out of their opponent and nearly pulled off the first round upset. PSU went on to shut out the Spartans 1-0 , but MSU fought to the very end and nearly forced overtime as time expired.
“There’s always ups and there’s always downs,” Smith said. “It’s a building year. We can use it on to next year. ... Everyone knows you don’t want to go out in the first round, especially for our freshmen who have never experienced it.”
It was a testament to how the season went for Knull. While execution and fundamental skills could be questioned at times, never questioned were the determination and fight these Spartans demonstrated game in and game out.
