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 2022.
• Maddie Lawlor returned to the lineup after missing the 2023 season with injury, and is tied with Ellie Rutherford (2-3-7) for third on the team with seven points (3-1-7). Rutherford's three assists is a career high, while Lawlor's offensive output is her career best in all three categories.
• Senior Jillian Bonczewski's three goals is a career high in both goals and points (41 games).
• Ellie Wheatley, along with O'Neill and Rutherford, serve as the 2024 team captains. Wheatley and O'Neill are both fifth-year players, appearing in 66 and 70 Spartan games, respectively. Wheatley has three assists this season and a 1-13-15 scoring line in her career.
• MSU hosts a pair of games next week when it takes on Miami (Oct. 1) and Kent State (Oct. 6) at Ralph Young FIeld.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
• 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 2022.
• Maddie Lawlor returned to the lineup after missing the 2023 season with injury, and is tied with Ellie Rutherford (2-3-7) for third on the team with seven points (3-1-7). Rutherford's three assists is a career high, while Lawlor's offensive output is her career best in all three categories.
• Senior Jillian Bonczewski's three goals is a career high in both goals and points (41 games).
• Ellie Wheatley, along with O'Neill and Rutherford, serve as the 2024 team captains. Wheatley and O'Neill are both fifth-year players, appearing in 66 and 70 Spartan games, respectively. Wheatley has three assists this season and a 1-13-15 scoring line in her career.
• MSU hosts a pair of games next week when it takes on Miami (Oct. 1) and Kent State (Oct. 6) at Ralph Young FIeld.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
