Sophomore midfielder Floor Rijpma hits the ball away from opponent Jamie Gofgosky during Sunday’s game against Ohio State. The Spartans took on the Badgers at Munn field and won with a final score of 4-2. Rijpma had two of the four total goals.
The No. 7 MSU field hockey team (11-4 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) did not waste any time in its 4-2 victory against Ohio State (5-8, 1-2) on Sunday.
Just over four minutes into the game, sophomore middleback Floor Rijpma fired one into the back of the Buckeye net.
“Our goal for the first half was to have a strong first 10 minutes and see if we score and then score again,” MSU head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof said. “After our first goal, I was on the sidelines yelling, ‘It’s 0-0, it’s 0-0 again’ to refocus (the team) and to not think that it’s time to sit back and relax.”
The Spartans did anything but sit back and relax, as senior forward Kathryn Elenz-Martin put another point on the board just a minute and a half later off a penalty corner.
“My thought going into the game was just to play as hard as I can for the team … and myself,” Elenz-Martin said. “(Today’s win) is just nice because we’ve been in this little slump, so it’s nice to get the confidence back. Everyone just had a lot of fun.”
Senior back Charlotte van der Laag scored the third and final goal of the half for MSU 10 minutes later.
“Hopefully, bit by bit, we continue to develop and need fewer chances to score goals because that’s the bottom line of the game,” van de Kerkhof said of the team’s 17 shot attempts and four goals.
After the initial shock Ohio State received in the form of MSU’s offense, it managed to find the back of the net twice, ending the half at 3-2.
“I think we were rock solid on defense (in terms of) their opportunities to attack us,” van de Kerkhof said. “I think the goals Ohio State scored on us were indirectly opportunities that we created for them.”
The Spartans had nothing but the back of the Buckeye net in sight coming into the second half. Rijpma racked up her second goal of the game off a pass from junior forward Michelle Ciliberti just 11 seconds into the final half.
“We did really well with connecting, possession and moving up and down the field together,” Elenz-Martin said of the teams play.
“We’re communicating really well and everyone was just working hard.”
This win comes after a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 6 Michigan on Friday — where MSU did not come out with the same offensive fire and went scoreless for the first 26 minutes.
“Overtime has to be more of a practice topic,” van de Kerkhof said of the team’s two overtime losses so far this season.
“But it’s like a coin toss. Both teams are exhausted. If you have a chance to get your stick on it at the right time, it may end up being the game-winning goal.”
MSU returns to action on the road Sunday in hopes of collecting a third Big Ten win in Happy Valley against Penn State.
The victory over Ohio Sate on Sunday snapped a two-game losing streak for the Spartans.
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