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Nov. 15, 2003

Box Score

EAST LANSING, Mich. - - Fifth-ranked Michigan State defeated the University of Louisville 2-0 Saturday, Nov. 15 in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Michigan State.

The teams fought through a scoreless first half with MSU outshooting the Cardinals 5-2 and holding a 5-2 advantage in penalty corners. Louisville goalkeeper senior Christy Hershey had three saves while Christina Kirkaldy had two stops in the first half for the Spartans.

A steady rain began to fall as the teams played the second half. The score remained tied at 0-0 as Michigan State rattled off eight shots and drew four more corners before finally breaking through with just over six minutes remaining in the game when Alexandra Kyser took a rebound off of Hershey's pad to score on a penalty corner to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead at the 63:36 mark in the game.

Two minutes later, Jennifer Beeuwkes got a stick on Veerle Goudswaard's pass from the right corner to put MSU up 2-0.

The Cardinals had several breakaway opportunities in the game, but could not capitalize and the score stood at 2-0.

Michigan State outshot U of L 16-4 and held a 10-3 corner advantage. Hershey posted 11 saves in the contest. MSU goalie Kirkaldy finished the game with two saves. The Spartans improve to 17-4 on the season and will play Michigan on Sunday in the second round of the tournament, with the winner of that matchup advancing to the NCAA semifinals.

"I'm extremely proud of the way we played today," said U of L head coach Pam Bustin. "The team stuck with the game plan and held a very talented team scoreless for 63 minutes. I'm especially happy that we were able to play with so much heart. We've struggled with adversity all year long, and to come this far and not give up says a lot about this team's character. I'm glad we were here for the seniors and for our underclassmen - a lot of whom played key roles in this game."