SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri State field hockey team opens up its home season Thursday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. against LIU Brooklyn at Betty and Bobby Allison North Stadium. The Bears will also host UC Davis on Sept. 24 and the University of the Pacific on Sept. 26.
 
Match Info:
Thurs., Sept. 22 • 4 p.m. • Missouri State (0-4) vs. LIU Brooklyn (0-4)
Sat., Sept. 24 • 11 a.m. • Missouri State (0-4) vs. UC Davis (1-6)
Mon., Sept. 26 • 11 a.m. • Missouri State (0-4) vs. Pacific (4-3)
Location: Betty and Bobby Allison North Stadium – Springfield, Mo.
 
Match History
This will be the first meeting between the Bears and the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds.
 
The UC Davis Aggies have an all-time 4-1 record over MSU. The Aggies won the last meeting between the team on Sept. 26, 2015. The last match the Bears won against UC Davis was a 5-4 outcome on Sept. 4, 2014, at Allison North Stadium.
 
Missouri State trails the University of the Pacific in a close 11-12 all-time series record. In the last meeting, Pacific edged out the Bears in a 4-3 decision on Sept. 27, 2015. MSU's last victory against the Tigers came on Sept. 2, 2013 where the Bears took the game 3-2.
 
Last Meeting
In the last affair between the Bears and the Aggies (9/26/15), MSU fell in a close 2-1 showdown. Andrea Soler Codina scored the lone goal for the Bears. UC Davis got on the board in the 10^th minute to give the Aggies an early 1-0 lead. Soler Codina scored from the right side in the 23^rd minute to tie up the game, 1-1. The two teams were tied going into the second half, but the Aggies were able to pull ahead and win the match early in the second half.
 
The Pacific Tigers outlasted the Bears 4-3 in the last showdown between the two teams (9/27/15). Pacific led the Bears 2-0 at halftime and quickly took a 4-1 lead over MSU with only 15 minutes left in the match. The Bears battled with less than 12 minutes remaining in the match, scoring two consecutive goals, but were unable to overcome the deficit. Feli Heinzel finished the match with three saves and Megan Drew recorded one.
 
Bear Bites

• In their third season at Allison North Stadium, the Bears (0-4) enter their home opener looking to gain momentum before Mid-American Conference play. The Missouri State field hockey team finished the 2015 season with a 3-1 record at home, earning wins against Saint Louis (2-0), Ohio University (2-0) and Kent State (1-0).
• Junior Bianca Mills leads the Bears in points (3), ties with fellow junior Andrea Soler Codina in goals (1) and ties with Liz Young in assists (1). The Bears have recorded two goals on the season.
• Feli Heinzel (0-4) has seen 280 minutes in the cage, recording 22 saves while allowing only 15 goals. Against Indiana (9/9) Heinzel tied her career, single-game high of nine goals. The sophomore is nearly halfway to her 59 total season saves in 2015.
• Catherine Ostoich is in her first season as head coach for the Bears.

 
A Look At The Competition
LIU Brooklyn
The Blackbirds are off to a slow start with a 0-4 overall record in the first season of the program's history. LIU has competed against two opponents Missouri State will face this season, falling 8-1 to both Davidson and Appalachian State. The Blackbird team is made up entirely of freshmen.
 
Skai Sprenkle registered the first goal in the program's history against Davidson on Sept. 3. Sprenkle, along with Madi Cook and Casey Carrigan, lead the Blackbird squad with one goal and two points each. Cook has fired eight shots over the course of the season, while Carrigan has recorded five.
 
Goalkeepers Molly Jannell and Shelly Drucker have split time in the cage this season, Drucker putting in 176:13 minutes and recording 18 saves and Jannell seeing 103:47 minutes on the pitch and tallying 13 saves. Haley Ballard leads the Blackbirds with three defensive saves this season. 
 
Patricia Kennedy is the first head field hockey coach in LIU Brooklyn history and is in her first season at the helm for the Blackbirds.
 
UC Davis
The Aggies enter Saturday's match with a 1-6 overall record. UC Davis fell fellow MSU opponent, Indiana, 2-0. On Sept. 2, the Aggies pulled out a 3-0 victory over the Ohio University Bobcats. UC Davis has faced two nationally ranked opponents this season, falling to No. 13 Boston University (5-0) and No. 20 Maine (6-0).
 
Offensively, senior Agustina Singh leads UC Davis with two goals on the season and four points. Four other Aggies have recorded one goal this season for a total of five goals scored by the UC Davis offense. Senior Lauren Copeland leads the squad with two assists.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, junior goalkeeper Beth Lee (1-5) has recorded 51 saves on the season while allowing 18 goals. Junior Kate Young and sophomore Lauren Mewes have each recorded two defensive saves for the Aggies.
 
Chrissy Kilroe is in her first season as head coach for UC Davis.   
 
Pacific
The Tigers (4-3) are riding a four-game winning streak, scoring 25 goals over the past four matches. On opening weekend, Pacific dropped its season opener to No. 3 Connecticut, 5-2. The Tigers suffered a loss to MSU's MAC opponent, Kent State 3-2 before also falling to Harvard three days later.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, seven Tigers have recorded multiple goals this season. Forward Marguerite van Wyk leads the club with six goals and a total of 16 points while freshman Ash Rutherford leads the team in assists (6). The Tigers have scored 30 goals this season.
 
Defensively, Laura Pujade has seen the most minutes in the cage (483:05), recording 27 saves. The senior from Matadepera, Spain, carries a 4-3 record and has allowed 14 goals this season.
 
The Tigers are led by Andy Smith, who is in his fourth season at the helm.
 
Final Details
Thursday's match against LIU is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., Saturday's contest against start at 11 a.m. and Sunday's showdown between Missouri State and Pacific is slated for 11 a.m. at Allison North Stadium. Live Stats will be available for all of the matches as well as live updates on Facebook (Missouri State Field Hockey) and Twitter (MSUBearsFHockey). For more information on the Missouri State field hockey team, visit www.missouristatebears.com, Facebook or Twitter.