IU faces off against No. 5 Michigan State

Some games just mean more than others. And that will surely be the case for the field hockey team (3-8) on Saturday against the No. 5 ranked Michigan State Spartans (11-2) in East Lansing. Last season against the Spartans the Hoosiers jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held it until the Spartans evened the tally at 2-2 with just over two minutes remaining. The contest went into overtime, and Michigan State scored in double overtime to win 3-2. \nCoach Amy Robertson said she believes her team remembers last season's heartbreaking loss well.\n"I can tell you that our team is extremely motivated to play Michigan State," she said. "They are looking forward to the challenge, and they do understand that they're (Michigan State) a better team than last year. But so are we."\nAnd with memories of last year's defeat still burning in her mind, senior co-captain Erica Nilsson said the game with the Spartans has been circled on the Hoosier schedule.\n"They're a great team and a great program," Nilsson said, "but I think that because of last year we definitely have an added incentive to beat them."\nIU will be looking to continue its winning ways after beating Ohio State 3-2 Oct. 5 for their first Big Ten win in their third year of existence. But the Hoosiers will have to take their play to another level for success against the Spartans. Robertson said the Ohio State win will add confidence to the Hoosier's cause Saturday.\n"I think that after the Ohio State game they (IU) are not going to be intimidated by anyone," Robertson said. "We understand that if we play well as a team that's a success for us, and the way a team is going to have to beat us is they're going to have to play well as a team too."\nFreshman midfielder Mallory Reabold was the Big Ten Player of the Week for her performances in last week's Ohio State and Louisville games. And Reabold said the Hoosier's success against Ohio State will help them Saturday in East Lansing.\n"We seemed to mesh really well which we had been doing in other games," Reabold said, "but it just seemed to work better. We saw how we can play, and that's going to make us strive to be the best team we can be against Michigan State."\nDefensively, the Hoosiers will be looking to slow down a Spartan squad that has recorded 248 shots, 130 penalty corners and 52 goals through only 13 games. Michigan State averages 4 goals per game compared to the Hoosiers 1.25 average. Two Spartans that IU will surely keep tabs on are lead scorers sophomores Annebet Beerman and Judith van Haeringen. Beerman has an astonishing 13 goals and 4 assists in 2002, while van Haeringen showcases 6 goals and 9 assists. Robertson said the challenge will be stiff.\n"They spread the field out really well almost like an international team," Robertson said. "They've got excellent stick skills, and they can hit with pin point accuracy over long distances. From last year the team is really similar, but now they've had an extra year to play together, and that's made them even more dangerous." \nRobertson said the team plans to disrupt the Spartans timing and limit their overall opportunities in order to achieve defensive success Saturday.\n"We're going to try to take them out of their rhythm and try to disrupt the normal game that they play," Robertson said. "And try to really limit their opportunities to drop corners by playing really tight team defense."\nOffensively, the Hoosiers will look to continue attacking just as they did against Ohio State when they scored two goals in the first ten minutes. Robertson plans to take advantage of MSU's wide open attack.\n"We need to find the counter attacks and exploit their open play and score," Robertson said.\nIU faces off against the Spartans Saturday at 1 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.