Not only did Hill miss the two overtime periods against the Eagles, but she also will have to serve a one-game suspension when the Spartans open Big Ten play against preseason favorite Penn State.

“I knew it was happening,” Hill said. “There’s nothing I (could) do about it. Without saying anything, I just walked off and joined my team on the bench.”

Although Hill and head coach Tom Saxton agreed her second yellow card was warranted, the first that drew raised eyebrows from Saxton and still leaves Hill puzzled days later.

At the 62:35 minute mark, Hill was guarding an Eastern Michigan throw-in when she said she “kind of went ‘Ah!’ — not even a yell or anything like that, not obnoxious.”

The referee didn’t give Hill a warning and immediately pulled the yellow card.

The second yellow card came on a play in front of the net as the Spartans were guarding a corner kick, and Hill said she simply got caught being aggressive.

Opening against No. 22 Penn State — the 12-time reigning Big Ten Champion — without Hill will be a daunting task for the Spartans, who have been carried by the senior forward during their 6-0-2 start.

Before Tuesday’s practice, Saxton said the MSU coaching staff still was trying to figure out how to replace Hill and her team-leading eight goals.

Saxton said freshman forward Olivia Stander will get the most minutes, but he doesn’t think she’s ready to play all 90 minutes. Because of that, he said the Spartans might have to adjust their offensive system.

“We’ll have to work that out this week,” Saxton said. “Those are the two things the staff and I have been talking about — giving Olivia a go up there in our own system, or also being prepared to maybe play one of our center-midfielders underneath (sophomore forward Laura Heyboer) and see how that goes.”

Despite the loss of Hill, senior midfielder Megan Brown is confident someone will step in to fill her shoes.

“It is a big loss for us because she’s definitely a leader on this team and a goal-scorer, but someone’s going to rise up,” Brown said. “We have a team full of players who are very talented, so while we’ll miss her, we’re going to be fine.”

What to work on?

When asked what the Spartans need to do to improve heading into Big Ten play, Brown had to stop and think.

That’s what happens when you out-shoot your opponents 158-56 and allow just three goals while going unbeaten in eight games.

“Just getting ready for the speed of play in the Big Ten is something we really need to prepare for this week, because once you get to conference games it really turns up the level of intensity,” Brown said after a pause. “Just getting ready to play fast, play hard — it’s a very physical conference.”

Brown said because of the competitive teams MSU has played in its nonleague schedule, such as Santa Barbara and Illinois State, the Spartans should be well-prepared for whatever comes their way.

Still, sophomore goalkeeper Jill Flietstra said the Big Ten season is a completely different ball game.

“I think we just need to keep playing physical,” Flietstra said. “Obviously, the Big Ten is really physical and defensive-minded. We just need to have the proper approach and prepare ourselves to be knocked around a little bit.”