The MSU field hockey team fell to No. 10 Northwestern on Friday with a final score of 4-3 in the annual “Pink Game” to support breast cancer awareness at Ralph Young Field.
The first goal came in the 26th minute from MSU senior midfielder Kristin Matula. Matula controlled a loose ball in the circle and put it in for her 10th goal of the season. Matula has been a bright spot for the Spartans, having recorded a point in five straight games and a goal in four of the last five contests.
“Kristin can be a huge difference maker for us, she plays both sides of the ball really well,” head coach Helen Knull said. “I’ve seen that goal five times this season, when she comes through on the rebound and she just sees a space and finishes it and it’s a great finish.”
The Wildcats came back in the 32nd minute and tied the game up 1-1 after a penalty corner from Elena Curley.
The Spartans regained the lead at the end of the first half on a second penalty corner attempt. Junior forward Sophie Macadré grabbed the rebound from Simone Vagnoni’s shot and put it in the back of the net to give MSU a 2-1 lead.
To start the second half, Northwestern rattled off three unanswered goals to go up 4-2 in the contest.
After the third Wildcat goal MSU’s leading goal scorer, junior midfielder Kendal Anderson, redirected a missed shot into the back of the net. The goal put the game back in reach, 4-3.
The Spartans, however, were unable to get anything else going and fell to the Wildcats. After the loss, MSU now has an 8-10 overall and a 3-5 record in Big Ten play. The Wildcats improved to 12-7 and 5-3 in the Big Ten.
Overall, Macadré said the Spartans took a lot of positives from the battle with a top 10 team.
“I thought we were really unlucky to lose, I thought we hustled really hard and put on a good show today,” Macadré said. “We slowed down a little in the second half, but I think everything that we didn’t do we can do, and it’s everything we can improve on.”
In the final game of the season, the Spartans will take on No. 17 Stanford at Ralph Young Field at 2 p.m. MSU will celebrate senior day and honor the seven seniors on the team.
