QUICK STRIKES FOR THE WEEK AHEAD ...
• Michigan State returns to Big Ten play this Friday after three straight non-conference matchups. The Spartans will host No. 6 Maryland on Friday afternoon before their final non-conference matchup of the year at Central Michigan on Sunday.
• MSU will honor its four graduating seniors at Friday's game against Maryland: Jillian Bonczewski, Emma O'Neill, Ellie Rutherford, and Ellie Wheatley.
• Head coach Missy Meharg is in her 37th season at the helm of Maryland program. Her Terps are 7-3 overall on the year and own a 3-1 mark in Conference play. Maryland's lone B1G loss is a 1-0 setback to league-leading Northwestern, but rebounded in last weekend's wins at Indiana (3-0) and No. 10 Iowa (5-0). Hope Rose leads Maryland with five goals and an assist followed by Kylee Niswonger, (4-1-9). Sophomore Alyssa Klebasko boasts a 0.72 GAA and .781 save percentage in 10 games.
• Central Michigan hosts Ball State in a Friday MAC game at before welcoming the Spartans for Sunday's contest. Former MSU assistant coach Jennifer Johnstone leads the Chippewas in her third season at the helm. Her squad is 3-8 overall entering Friday's game and is led in scoring by Mallory Camryn (7-3-17) and Zoey Emrick (4-1-9). Coletta Beeler and Jenna Billig have split keeper duties, with Beeler's .734 save percentage the squad's best with a 3.15 GAA. Billig's 2.93 GAA and 0.553 save percentage has come on 21 saves as compared to 47 for Beeler.
• MSU is coming off a 1-1 week, downing Miami (2-1, 2OT) on Tuesday and falling in a heartbreaker in a penalty shootout on Sunday to Kent State, 4-3. MSU is now 2-3 in overtime games this season, with all of its non-conference losses coming after regulation.
• The Spartans have surpassed their win total from a year ago (4) and have scored 26 goals through 11 games in 2024. The 2023 offensively-challenged Spartans scored 17 goals in 16 games combined.
• Ellie Rutherford had a pair of goals and two assists last week, scoring the OT winner against Miami and factoring in the scoring of all three MSU goals against Kent State. She had a 2-3-7 scoring line over the last three contests, all against non-conference competition.
• Rutherford sits atop the Spartan stat sheet with 4-6-14. Her four goals ties her career best in a season, while her six assists and 14 points are new career standards.
• Maddie Lawlor scored MSU's game-tying goal with 1:23 remaining in regulation to force overtime against Kent State. It was her fourth goal of the season and her 4-1-9 is also her most prolific scoring season. Lawlor missed the 2023 season with injury.
• Emma O'Neill scored a fourth-quarter goal against Miami last Tuesday to send that game to overtime. She has three goals and 11 points in 2024, which is good for second on the team in points.
• Brynn Shaffer scored her first collegiate goal on Sunday against Kent State in the first quarter. She finished off a Rutherford pass for her marker.
• Jillian Bonczewski assisted on O'Neill's game-winning marker in OT against the Red Hawks. With three goals and an assist (seven points), Bonczewski is also enjoying her most prolific scoring season of her career. She entered the season with just one goal in 33 career games.
• Sophomore keeper Lyra Gavino had 10 saves against Miami on Tuesday, her second career double-digit save performance (and second this season.) She made two stops on Sunday against Kent State, and stopped an additional two shots in the penalty shootout. She owns a career-best .656 save percentage and 2.02 GAA in 10 games.
• MSU heads out on the road for a pair of conference games next weekend, playing at Rutgers on Friday and Penn State on Sunday.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
