Field Hockey

June 20, 2012

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State field hockey team announced today (June 20) its upcoming schedule for the 2012 season. The Spartans see eight 2011 NCAA Tournament qualifiers on its calendar including Stanford, Northeastern, Duke and Ohio as well as Big Ten foes Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan and Penn State.

"I am very pleased with the balance in our 2012 schedule," said head coach Helen Knull. "We will enjoy 10 home games on Ralph Young Field and 10 games on the road against some new and familiar opponents. We open with a re-match from last year at the University of Maine but will also play Boston College, who is a new opponent on our schedule. We will then return home for some tough games against teams in and out of our region."

MSU will open the 2012 campaign with an exhibition game against intra-state rival Michigan on Saturday, Aug. 18 in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Spartans stay on the road when they head to Maine for a two game set. Michigan State begins the weekend with Boston College on Friday, Aug. 24 and then faces Maine on Sunday, Aug. 26.

The team will return to East Lansing, Mich. the following weekend and remain on its home turf for the next three weeks. The 2012 home season kicks off with Stanford on Friday, Aug. 3 and then MSU hosts Miami on Sunday, Sept. 2. On Friday, Sept. 7, Michigan State takes on Virginia and the home action continues on Sunday, Sept. 9 with Northeastern. A week later, the Spartans face American on Friday, Sept. 14 on Ralph Young Field.

"The University of Virginia will be traveling to East Lansing this year," Knull said. "They will have two Seniors coming back to the squad after playing in the London Olympics, which will make for a challenging and exciting matchup after our 3-0 win over the Cavaliers last season."

Big Ten play opens for MSU on Friday, Sept. 21 when it hosts the Iowa Hawkeyes in East Lansing.

"The Big Ten will be very competitive again this fall," said Knull. "I expect that the Big Ten champ will be decided during the last games of the season. With the Spartans returning 19 from last year, I am excited to see how an experienced squad will compete in conference."

Michigan State will take to the road when it travels to Durham, N. C. to compete against Duke. The Spartans will play the Blue Devils, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals a season ago, on Sunday, Sept. 23.

MSU returns to Ralph Young Field to host Indiana on Friday, Sept. 28 and Pacific on Monday, Oct. 1 before hitting the road for three weeks. The final trip of the year begins at Ohio State on Saturday, Oct. 6 and the Spartans remain in the Buckeye State to face Ohio on Sunday, Oct. 7.

The team heads back to its home state on Friday, Oct. 12 to take on archrival Michigan in Ann Arbor. After facing Kent State in a nonconference game on Sunday, Oct. 14, MSU travels to Northwestern on Friday, Oct. 19. Michigan State wraps up the road series with Central Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 21 in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

The Spartans conclude the regular season at home against Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 27 before participating in the Big Ten Conference tournament hosted by Iowa on Nov. 1-4.

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