Photos Courtesy of Barry Crell

Boxscore

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -The No. 11 Ranked University of Delaware field hockey team’s season ended like it began with a tough setback against Michigan State as the Blue Hens fell to the No. 6 Spartans, 7-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Virginia’s Turf Field on Saturday afternoon.

Reigning Big 10 Player of the Year Floor Rijpma tallied four goals, including three in the first half, to lead Michigan State (18-3). With the victory, the Spartans advance to the second round where they will meet Virginia, who defeated Richmond, 3-0, in the other first-round bout on Saturday.

“Michigan State came out ready to play,” said head coach Carol Miller. “Although we felt like we were ready to play, we came out a little flat-footed, and you can’t do that against a team like that. You have to be thinking ahead of them, because if you’re caught guessing or reacting, you’re not going to be able to do well. They really are a great team.”

The game served as a rematch of the first contest of the year. Michigan State also came out on top in that match-up after posting a 7-2 victory in Durham, N.C.

The Spartans came out quickly despite a few nice defensive plays by Delaware (14-6). In the early going, goalie Noelle Diana kicked away one shot before Jeamie Deacon corralled the ball and ripped a second blast. This time, Kayla Schweitzer made the stop, swatting the ball out of the air to keep the game scoreless.

Despite Delaware’s early defensive work, Michigan State kept up the attack. Eventually, Rijpma took control of the ball, and with a few quick moves, she broke free for a moment and smacked a one-timer into the back of the cage to put the Spartans up, 1-0, at 33:40.

Three minutes later, MSU struck again. After Diana made a nice kick save on an initial Spartan shot, Jantine Steinmetz found the ball and hit Rijpma with a nice feed. The Michigan State midfielder did the rest, finding a hole to post her second goal of the game.

Although the Delaware defense held up against the Spartan onslaught for a while in the middle of the first half, Rijpma struck again. After blocking one shot and watching another sail wide, UD could not stop the Big 10’s best player. She took a pass from Manouk Vernij and quickly completed her first-half hat-trick.

Down by three, the defense refused to quit. Diana made an excellent sprawling save at the 20-minute mark on a rocket by Julie Mackay. Later, she batted away a shot by Chantae Miller to keep the squad within relative striking distance.

Unfortunately, Michigan State’s sustained pressure continued to pay off. At 13:42, Vernij came back to extend the lead to 4-0 after the freshman forward snuck a shot past Diana.

With time running out in the first half, Delaware had a few chances to get on the board. Tori Karsten ripped a blast that missed just wide with 13 minutes left in the opening period. Later, Kim Schlezes (above right) fired the ball on-cage from the top of the half circle at the six-minute mark, but no Blue Hen could get a stick on the ball as it cruised through the zone.

Following halftime, Michigan State came out just as hot as they were in the first half. After Delaware failed to capitalize on an early penalty corner, MSU quickly extended its lead. At 39:43, Kristin Henn found Rijpma in front of the cage. With a quick move, the Spartan standout converted for her fourth goal of the game.

With momentum comfortably on the Michigan State sidelines, the squad continued its attack. The team ripped off eight straight shots, but the Delaware defense held them off the board. Diana stopped four of the blasts herself, including a beautiful two-handed block on a laser by Julie Mackey.

After another barrage of shots, Michigan State found the back of the cage again as Joelle van Ireland extended the lead to 6-0 at 50:54.

Later, after another Spartan flurry, Delaware had its best chance to light up the scoreboard in the second half. The squad earned a penalty corner with five minutes left in regulation. Rae Everson fed the ball in to Missy Woodie, who passed it out to Casey Howard (below right). The squad’s All-Conference performer unloaded a shot, but the Spartan’s Elissa Unger made the save.

With time running out, the Spartans added one final goal with just 48 seconds remaining in the game. Off a corner, van Ierland and Miller set-up Deacon, who ripped a shot into the cage to cap the scoring at 7-0.

During the contest, Michigan State held a 31-2 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in penalty corners. Diana posted nine saves for the Hens, while Unger made only one for the Spartans.

“I told the players that this feels badly, but there’s only one team that’s going to end the season with a win,” said Miller. “There are seven other teams that are feeling like we feel right now, and there are a lot more who didn’t even make it this far. They have to feel good about the season. It really was a wonderful year.”

Despite the first-round loss, the 2009 season was an incredible one for Delaware. Following a 3-15 campaign last year, the squad completed an incredible turnaround by advancing to the NCAA Tournament after capturing the Colonial Athletic Association title. The team’s 11-win jump from last season is the largest of any team in the nation.