Nov. 15, 2008

Courtesy of Michigan State Athletics

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 10th-ranked Michigan State field hockey team upset seventh-ranked and defending National Champion North Carolina, 3-2 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Sophomore Angela Pagura (Columbus, Ohio) scored the game-winning goal with 4:15 left in regulation to send the Spartans into the second round.

"It was a big team win over North Carolina," said head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof. "When tournament time comes around, you have to play your best hockey and that is what we did today. Today we played our best game of the season, and it's nice to know that we have the opportunity to play another game in our house tomorrow afternoon against a team we know really well in Iowa."

Michigan State struck first at 30:11 when sophomore Jantine Steinmetz (Amstelveen, Netherlands) scored an unassisted goal after gaining possession at the 30-yard line and breaking up the left-hand side. North Carolina responded just over two minutes later. Elizabeth Drazdowski tipped the ball past Michigan State goalkeeper Elissa Unger (Reading, Pa.) after an initial shot from Melanie Brill on the right side.

North Carolina held an 8-6 shot advantage in the first half, while MSU had a 4-1 lead in penalty corners.

The Tar Heels opened the second half with a goal at 37:39 to take the lead. Melanie Brill scored off a penalty corner after lifting the ball into the cage with assists to Kiki Norbruis and Kate Scholl. MSU answered when senior Geraldine Raynor (Marondera, Zimbabwe) tallied her eighth goal of the season at 42:59 off a penalty corner to tie the game. Classmates Gwen Riley (Lousiville, Ky.) and Michelle Ciliberti (Lousiville, Ky.) assisted on the goal.

With traffic in front, Unger was able to hold the Tar Heels from taking the lead at 61:54 after making a high blocker save off a shot from Melanie Brill. The Spartans went ahead when Pagura recorded her team-leading fifth game-winning goal of the season at 65:45. Pagura intercepted a pass from a North Carolina defender, ran up the left side, and took a low shot, sending the ball into the left-hand corner of the goal cage.

North Carolina finished the game with a 16-11 shot advantage and an 8-6 edge in penalty corners. Unger made six saves in goal for her 17th win of the season, while Jackie Kintzer made four saves for the Tar Heels.

"If you have a chance to play North Carolina and play with them from the get go, it's a good confidence boost," added Van de Kerkhof. "Anything they threw at us, we were able to handle and walk away with a win. To get a sincere compliment from their coach staff at the end of the game means a lot to us as a young coaching staff, and also to our team because you were able to beat the defending national champion. We were able to stop their quest to defend their title and now are one step closer to having the opportunity to play in the final four in Louisville."

Michigan State will face Iowa Sunday at 2 p.m., with the winner advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in Louisville, Ky. The two teams met twice this season, with the Hawkeyes winning both games in overtime.

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Printable Bracket 
Interactive Bracket

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA Division I Field Hockey Committee announced on Nov. 11 the field of 16 teams for the 2008 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. Five conferences were awarded automatic qualification. In addition, six conferences competed for three play-in berths and the remaining eight teams were selected at large.

The following conferences and their representatives received automatic qualification:

America East Conference -- University at Albany
Atlantic Coast Conference -- University of Maryland, College Park
Big East Conference -- Syracuse University
Big Ten Conference -- University of Iowa
Colonial Athletic Association -- James Madison University

The teams winning the play-in berths were American University from the Patriot League, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, from the Atlantic 10 Conference and Princeton University from the Ivy Group.

The above bracket lists the eight at-large teams, as well as the pairings, sites and dates.

The first- and second-round games will be played on four campus sites November 15 and 16. The University of Louisville will host the semifinals and final, November 21 and 23 at Trager Stadium. For ticket information, please call 502/852-5151.

In 2007, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, crowned an undefeated season with its fifth NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship title with a victory of 3-0 over Pennsylvania State University at the Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex in College Park, Maryland.