The No. 8 MSU field hockey team delivered what it set out to accomplish in Friday’s 3-0 win at Iowa.
The Spartans effectively executed on the road against solid Big Ten competition and outshot the Hawkeyes 15-1, while creating some scoring chances and keeping their Big Ten record unblemished.
“We talked about dominating together as a team today and we did that from the get-go,” head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof said. “We had a very solid team effort in limiting them to one shot on goal and one corner.”
Freshman midfielder Adelle Lever was the Spartans’ offensive standout Friday, scoring two first-half goals to put the game out of reach.
Lever deflected a shot into the goal to make it 1-0 at the 26:40 mark of the first half, then MSU scored twice more before the end of the first half. Senior midfielder Floor Rijpma scored the second goal and earned her team-leading 29th point less than three minutes after Lever’s tally, to make the score 2-0.
Lever’s second goal was assisted by freshman forward Manouk Vernij and gave MSU a 3-0 lead before halftime.
Senior goalie Elissa Unger recorded her second straight shutout, but only faced one shot thanks to solid team play in front of her.
Friday’s win also is significant in that Iowa defeated MSU three times last season, including a season-ending victory that allowed the Hawkeyes to reach the Final Four.
The Spartans improve to 3-0 in the Big Ten and 12-3 on the season through a tough nonconference schedule. They return to play at 3 p.m. Friday against No. 19 Ohio State, then host Michigan at noon Sunday.
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