Junior forward Abby Barker dives for the ball Oct. 13, 2013 at Ralph Young Field. The Spartans defeated the Cardinals, 8-0. Khoa Nguyen/The State News
The field hockey team has been on a hot streak. But in order to remain undefeated in Big Ten play, they will have to overcome the other undefeated Big Ten team — No. 3 Penn State.
“We’re going to try and do what we’ve been doing,” junior forward Abby Barker said. “It is a big game, there’s a lot of pressure on the line. But like we were saying the other day, pressure is a privilege, and we’re excited to be able to compete.”
MSU (7-7 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) will face Penn State (10-3, 3-0) on Saturday at noon.
The Nittany Lions are the highest-ranked team the Spartans will face in Big Ten season to date.
The Spartans faced several high-ranked opponents in non-conference play, but head coach Helen Knull said facing No. 3 Penn State will be a different challenge.
“It’s different when you play non-conference teams that are ranked that high,” Knull said. “It’s different when you’re playing someone that’s in-conference, just because there’s more on the line in conference play, and, really, you’ve got nothing to lose.”
The Spartans swept their first weekend last week and have won four of their last five games.
Now that the team has pulled to .500, junior forward Allie Ahern said Penn State will face a better Spartan team compared to the beginning of the year.
“They probably thought they could take us lightly before, but now they know we’re 3-0,” Ahern said. “So it’s going to be an intense game. As long as we play our best game, I think we can come out on top.”
Co-Defensive player of the week and junior back Jenni Smith will face the other defensive player of the week, Penn State’s Brittany Grzywacz.
Grzywacz helped the Nittany Lions defeat Ohio State and Bucknell last weekend, totaling two goals against the Buckeyes and two assists against the Bison.
MSU’s defense was a huge part of their weekend sweep, holding Michigan to two goals on 27 shots on Friday and holding Ball State to zero goals on four shots on Sunday.
It will be key for the defense to continue its level of play if MSU hopes to upset Penn State this weekend.
“Penn State’s a quick team,” Knull said. “We’ve got to be ready to counterattack and be in lanes so we can set the ball. I think we finally managed to click in that area of the game. It’s something we’re looking to see carry over from one week to the next.”
Smith said the defense had a good week of practice in preparation for the matchup.
“We’ve been looking at Penn State, watching them,” Smith said. “It’s 3-0 for both of us, so it’s a huge game. We’re definitely pumped for it, so that’ll be good.”
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