The No. 6 MSU field hockey team began its season with a 3-2 overtime win against then No. 1 Old Dominion.
But the Spartans’ (14-4, 4-1 Big Ten) final game of the season against No. 16 Iowa at 3 p.m. Friday in Iowa City, Iowa could be even more impressive despite the opponent’s lower ranking.
A 2-1 Spartan win over No. 10 Ohio State on Saturday put the Spartans at the top of the Big Ten standings, tied with the Buckeyes.
And if the standings don’t change, MSU will be the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament on Nov. 2-4 in Evanston, Ill., because it holds the tiebreaker over Ohio State.
But if MSU loses to Iowa and depending on the outcome of Michigan’s game against Northwestern, the team could drop to the No. 4 seed in the tournament.
“I don’t know if everybody realizes we could drop three spots,” sophomore midfielder Alexandra Kyser said. “But everyone has their mind set on being number one so we’re all going out to win it.”
With the all the postseason possibilities hindering on the game, Kyser said the team will still try to keep its focus on simply winning.
“We can’t let all the hype get to us,” she said. “We need to just remember that we have to win the game before we can celebrate.”
The Spartans have been ranked in the top 10 by the national coaches poll since starting its season with wins against No. 1 Old Dominion and No. 6 Wake Forest, but the rest of the Big Ten has still given MSU some competition.
Including MSU, of the seven Big Ten schools with field hockey teams, five are ranked in the top 20 including Iowa, who will challenge MSU for the Big Ten lead.
“It’s on their home field, it’s their last game and they’re motivated to finish second in the tournament,” head coach Michele Madison said.
Iowa will be offensively-minded against MSU, as it has been all season.
The Hawkeyes average 2.7 goals per game and have posted almost 16 shots per game.
“(Defenseman) Tiffany Leister’s a good player and they’re strong down the middle,” Madison said.
“It’s just a matter of trying to close up the middle and attack and play our game like we do.”
The Spartans have only averaged 1.3 goals per game, but the pressure will be on the team’s defense to protect the net against the Hawkeye offense, sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Hess said.
“There’s definitely a lot of pressure and we have to work with the defense to make sure that it doesn’t get back to us,” Hess said.
“We just can’t overlook them, I can’t emphasize that enough to the team, we have to take their team seriously.”
Friday’s game against Iowa will be the last regular season game for the senior Spartans, but senior goalkeeper Mara Mabley said it’s quite a game to leave with.
“It means a lot to our standings nationally and in the Big Ten and it’ll give us a ticket into the NCAA tournament,” Mabley said. “It’s exciting and it’s nerve-wracking at the same time. We just can’t let our emotions take over.”
Interesting subplots for sure, but Madison said only the game itself matters.
“(The game against Iowa) affects our season, but it’s just one of the what-ifs,” she said. “There’s 100 what-ifs and the only what-if we care about is what if we win.”
