No, it is not the Rose Bowl Championship football team. It is the Spartan field hockey team, fresh off an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, that will look to exceed expectations once again in 2014.

Like many other MSU teams, it took the field hockey team a midseason matchup against a bitter rival- the University of Michigan - to bring the best out of the team. After a double overtime win in East Lansing last October, the team found its groove and rode it to one of the most successful seasons in program history.

Entering the 2014 season brimming with confidence, the team looks to avoid another lackluster start and prove that they are among the best in the nation.

“This year we got to start from game one,” head coach Helen Knull said. “We focus on the process and we talk about it everyday. You can’t just look at the outcome, we got to talk about the process and how we’re going to get there.”

It is a mindset that seems to be trickling through the entire MSU athletic landscape, and one that the field hockey team spent their entire offseason focusing on.

“We’ve practiced in the morning from 7:00 to 9:30 and the grind starts getting to you, especially when there (are) eight inches of snow on the ground,” said Knull. “For them, they were confident and happy to be practicing ... We know how to get there and we know what it takes. Now it’s just doing that day in, day out.”

With seven seniors all returning, each with three years of playing experience plus the confidence of knowing what it takes, this could possibly be the year that fans see the field hockey team cement this program as one of the nation’s elite.

Seniors Becky Stiles, Abby Barker and Jenni Smith were all recently named to the 2014 Big Ten Players to Watch List, but other players will also likely earn a share of the spotlight this season.

Other seniors, such as Allie Ahern and Heather Howie, bring invaluable skill and experience back to a team that lost seven seniors to graduation last season. In addition to the upperclassmen, sophomores Kristin Matula and “sneaky” Adrea Donaldson return having both made solid contributions as freshmen.

Fittingly, the field hockey team spent a lot of time during the offseason with another Big Ten Championship team. Spending time around the football team in the Duffy Daugherty Football Building helped remind each team what it takes to truly be an MSU athlete.

“They’re coming off a Rose Bowl Championship and Big Ten Championship and we’re coming off our Big Ten Championship,” said coach Knull. “But there wasn’t a sense of ‘We’re too good’ or ‘It’s just going to happen,’ you got to work hard for it. And I think that’s ... the mentality at Michigan State.”