The No. 5 MSU field hockey team boarded the bus to Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday with visions of nothing less than a Big Ten Championship.
“One more time, that’s what we tell (the players) every game,” head coach Michele Madison said. “Every game counts. We have to turn it on.”
This season’s Big Ten Tournament at Ohio State promises to be different for the Spartans (18-2 overall, 5-1 Big Ten), who have managed just one win in the past eight years. Except for top-seeded Big Ten regular season champion Michigan (17-2, 6-0), MSU already has defeated every team in the tourney this season, posting a 17-4 win margin.
The brackets favor the second-seeded Spartans, which won’t have to play fifth-seeded Iowa unless the teams face off for the championship Sunday. MSU has been eliminated by Iowa (9-7, 2-4) four times, including the last two years.
No. 2 U-M has been a sore spot as well, as the Spartans have failed to pull out a win the past two years. After being ousted from the NCAA Tournament last year after a 2-1 overtime loss to the Wolverines, MSU must be glad it won’t face U-M until the championship match.
Compiling a 90-percent win percentage this season, which is tied with Old Dominion (17-3) for tops in the nation, the Spartans lead the Big Ten in almost every offensive category, including shots, points and goals.
Now only MSU can threaten to score on every possession. It’s smothering on defense as well, allowing an average of just 0.8 goals per match going into the weekend.
The Spartan’s first match will be against seventh-seeded Indiana (6-12, 1-5) in a 10 a.m. Friday matchup. In the two teams’ last meeting in East Lansing, senior midfielder Cynthia Martin had two strikes during a Spartan second-half five-goal scoring fury en route to a 5-1 win.
“We have been able to put together attack weapons to create really balanced scoring,” Madison said. “We have six or seven solid scorers who can consistently put the ball in, and (freshman goalkeeper) Christina Kirkaldy of course is an important factor.”
Madison, who earned her 150th career victory with the win, said MSU is not looking past the Hoosiers, who’ve had a month to develop since the Oct. 12 beating. Indiana’s strong points, Madison added, are in the midfield, and the Spartans’ challenge will be to figure out how to capitalize on their stifling corner defense.
“They’re absolutely out to get us,” she said. “They’ve come a long way, and they’re fighters. They’ll definitely be ready.”
Should MSU advance past the Hoosiers, it would face either third-seeded Penn State (15-3, 4-2) or sixth-seeded Northwestern (6-12, 1-5), at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“When you get into post-season play it’s a new season,” Madison said.
“The way we look at it, we had 20 practice games for the tournament season, and now we’re more than ready.”
All matches will be played at Ohio State’s Turf Field in Columbus, Ohio.
