EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State scored four goals in the second half to pull away and secure a 5-0 victory over Colgate Sunday afternoon.
"Today's game was a tough one. Unfortunately, we did not step up and play the game we know we are capable of. We lacked communication and early quick passing. We realize that all of these things are within our control and will prepare to play a more aggressive game this Saturday against Lehigh," said head coach
April Cornell-DeAngelis.
MSU got its first goal when Bianca Pizano scored nine minutes into the first.
The Spartans doubled their advantage with just under five minutes to play in the third when Jillian Bonczewski put one in on a deflection. MSU made it a three-goal game when O'Neil found the back of the cage on a last-second corner in the third.
Michigan State added two more in the fourth with tallies from Pizano and Lilian Knorr.
Colgate had an opportunity to get on the board with two shots following penalty corners in the fourth. At the 7:02 mark, Charlotte Hamilton took a rip, but it got blocked by a Spartan defender. The Raiders' second corner came with 4:50 left, and Grace Schmelzinger also had an attempt blocked.
Claire van Kempen made four saves in the opening six minutes of the third. She made a big save following a corner, then stopped one from right in front shortly after. The junior finished with 10 saves in the game. Lauren Widdowson took a shot with just over five minutes left that got stopped by the keeper.
The Raiders had a solid quarter defensively in the second, keeping the Spartans off the scoreboard and holding them to one shot.
Colgate recorded two shots in the second frame, the first from Tyler Argilagos when she got into the circle but fired it wide. The Raiders earned their first corner with 42 seconds left, from which Ahria Dhillon took a shot that got saved.
During the first quarter, Colgate could not generate any shots, but the defense fended off two MSU corners to keep the Raiders in it.
UP NEXT
Colgate is back on the road next Saturday, traveling to Lehigh for its Patriot League opener at 11 a.m.
