Oct. 10, 2008
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Junior Courtney Plaster-Strange (Louisville, Ky./Kentucky Country Day) knotted the score at one apiece in the 18th minute of the first half but No. 6 Michigan State eventually outlasted the Wildcats, posting a 3-1 win at Lakeside Field on Friday. Senior Emily Kyle (San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco University H.S.) posted a season-high 13 saves in the loss to increase her Big Ten Conference-leading total to 81.
With the win, Michigan State improved to 12-1, 3-0 in league play, and has won nine straight games. Northwestern fell to 6-8, 0-3 against Big Ten opponents.
MSU seized momentum early posting 11 first-half shots and gaining 1-0 advantage on a goal by Jeamie Deacon in the eighth minute. Deacon received the push from Chantae Miller on a penalty corner and promptly found the back of the cage with a hit from the left side of the arc.
But Northwestern managed to even things 10 minutes later. Senior Alexandra Quinn (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) fed classmate Annie Bosslet (Granite City, Ill./Villa Duchesne) on the way to the cage. Michigan State 'keeper Elissa Unger made the initial save, but Plaster-Strange was trailing the play and put the rebound away from 10 yards for her fourth goal in 2008.
With just two minutes remaining before halftime, the Spartans reclaimed the lead after a hit from outside the circle struck the post and rebounded back into play. Kyle made one save but could not stop a second attempt by Miller, who lifted the ball over a sprawling Kyle.
Kyle's career high for saves (18) came as a sophomore against Maryland.
Northwestern nearly evened the score again off a well-executed penalty corner. But after three crisp passes and a hard hit on goal, sophomore Kendra Sirak's (Dallas, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) deflection towards the cage sailed just wide.
Michigan State scored again on a penalty corner one minute into the second half when Geraldine Raynor slammed home a shot from the top of the circle off a push by Miller and a stick-stop by Gwen Riley.
Northwestern is back in action Sunday, Oct. 12, when it hosts No. 3 Wake Forest. Demon Deacons head coach Jennifer Averill, a Northwestern field hockey legend now in her 17th year at the helm for Wake Forest, is making her first return trip to Evanston as a coach. The contest marks NU's third in four games against a team ranked in the top six in the NFHCA Coaches Poll.