Field Hockey Heads to Ball State

QUICK STRIKES FOR THE WEEKEND AHEAD … 

• Michigan State heads to Muncie, Indiana for a Sunday matchup with Ball State.  

•  MSU will play its next three games against non-conference competition after starting 0-2 in conference play with losses to No. 6 Ohio State (4-0)  and No. 9 Michigan (3-0)

 •  Ball State will play MIami on Friday in MAC action before the Spartans come to town for the Sunday contest.  The Cardinals will enter Friday’s game with a 1-5 record, dropping three straight after an overtime victory over Saint Louis.  Emma VanHal leads the squad with four goals and an assist for nine points, followed by Palma Rengifo with a 1-2-4 scoring line.  Hanna Johnston owns a 4.21 GAA and .732 save percentage.  Caitlin Walsh is now in her third season at the helm of the Ball State program.  

•   The Colgate victory on Sept. 15 was the 100th in the career of Helen Knull. In her 14th season, she is the longest-tenured coach in program history and owns the second-most wins of any mentor since the start of the program in the 1972 season. 

•  The Spartans have matched their win total from a year ago (4) and scored 19 goals through eight games in 2024. The 2023 offensively-challenged Spartans scored 17 goals in 16 games combined.  

•  Both of MSU’s non-conference losses this season have come in overtime.  MSU’s two losses in Big Ten play have been via shutout.  

•  Freshmen Carmen Pucheta, Mora Cavazza, Lilian Knorr, Carmen Maudlin, and Caro Schafer have each appeared in all eight MSU contests, with Pucheta, Knorr and Schafer each earning eight starts and Cavazza six.

• Sophomore Lyra Gavino made 11 saves in 90 minutes over the first two Big Ten games.  On the season, Gavino owns a 2.20 GAA and .622 save percentage, and earned her first career shutout against Colgate (9/15).

•  Ashley Herbert made her Spartan debut in goal for MSU against Michigan on Monday.  She made four saves and allowed one goal (on a penalty stroke) in 30 minutes of action.  

•  Bianca Pizano has a pair of two-goal games this season and leads the Spartans with five goals, which is more than any player on the team had a year ago.  She scored twice in her freshman campaign.

•  Emma O’Neill owns a 2-4-8 scoring line.  She leads the team in assists, and is two points shy of matching her career best of 10 points, set in…