EAST LANSING, mich. – The Michigan State field hockey team completed a thrilling comeback victory Sunday, upsetting No.12 Ohio State 4-3 at Ralph Young Field. the Spartans erased a 2-0 deficit to secure their first conference win of the season and third overall.
MSU’s offense was led by junior Cara Pizano, who scored one goal and assisted on another. Sophomore Gracie Burns and freshman Ellie Kendall each added goals, while graduate student Maddie Lawlor and junior Brynn Shaffer each recorded an assist.
Ohio State jumped to an early 1-0 lead and extended it to 2-0 midway thru the second period despite 11 saves from junior goalkeeper Lyra Gavino, including four consecutive stops during a flurry of Buckeye penalty corner attempts.
Pizano quickly responded for MSU, converting a penalty stroke to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Spartans then tied the game at 2-2 off a penalty corner in the third period, with sophomore Aisha Schafer recovering a rebound and scoring.
Two minutes later, MSU took the lead as Shaffer assisted burns for a 3-2 advantage.With under five minutes remaining, Lawlor initiated a breakaway, assisting Kendall to extend the lead to 4-2. Ohio State scored with under a minute to play to make it 4-3, but the Spartan defense held strong, blocking two penalty corner attempts in the final seconds to secure the victory.
Gavino earned the win, making 11 saves on 14 shots faced.
