Being one of the nation's top squads isn't always easy - ask the MSU field hockey team.
The Spartans practiced in one way or another through the entire offseason - weight training, conditioning and traveling abroad to do battle with the world's best opponents and participating in the Mercian Spring League.
And now, with the start of the season mere days away, the team is getting stir-crazy.
Fifth-year assistant coach Rolf van de Kerkhof said because of hard work in the offseason, the Spartans have been able to jump right into play-making, rather than wasting too much time with conditioning.
"We had a good preseason, a lot of the hockey team came in fit so that was a plus," he said. "This is a new season and with every game everything is possible."
Head coach Michele Madison agreed with her assistant, but added that the team has grown weary of facing itself in daily scrimmages in the time building up to such a hyped-up season. Instead, team members are hungry for their first real opponent.
"They've started to get cranky with each other," Madison said with a chuckle. "I'm cranky too. It's time to take this show on the road and put it to the test."
Junior midfielder Annebet Beerman has also noticed some unrest. She mentioned how hard newcomers are being pushed to advance to the levels of last year's Final Four squad.
"Some people are frustrated with each other, we work on a lot of stuff at practice every day," said Beerman, last year's leading scorer. "We're prepared to play this weekend, but the energy is missing in practice lately, we don't play as intense in scrimmages."
MSU will travel to Kent State on Saturday to face a Golden Flashes team it last met during the final home game of the year. The game ended in a 3-1 victory for the Spartans, closing out a perfect 10-0 home season.
Madison said despite the listlessness of her squad, many things remain undone.
"You never feel quite ready, there's so much you can't get to," she said. "But after the first week we'll come back and look things over.
"The key is being ready to fight."
Dutch quartet?
Standout sophomore back Judith van Haeringen returned home to the Netherlands over the break, leaving the Dutch group of Beerman and senior midfield/forward Sophie Rosmalenone shy of an all-star trio.
Last season, van Haeringen collected the team's second-highest scoring honors with 35 points and captured the team's Most Valuable Defender award.
But freshman midfield Jennifer Beeuwkes and junior transfer midfield Veerle Goudswaard, both natives of the Netherlands, have turned the duo of foreign athletes into a quad, leaving opponents shaking in their shoes.
Goudswaard might be the biggest surprise, earning All-South Region and All-CAA first-team honors at James Madison University before transferring to MSU. A two-time CAA All-Tournament Team member, Goudswaard notched 21 goals in her two-year tenure for the Dukes.
9 beautiful fingers, 1 ugly one
The team fought through a series of injuries last season and still was able to post the best record in program history at 23-3.
One of those struck by the injury bug, Beerman, broke her finger in practice shortly after scoring her 13th goal of the year. She was forced to wear a brace for the remainder of the season.
Seeming unhindered by the metal guard, Beerman went on to score another seven goals to close out the year. This year, sans brace, the sky is the limit, she said.
"It's still kind of ugly-looking, but it feels fine now," she said, comparing the now-healed digit to the unaffected nine.
