Oct. 2, 2015
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EAST LANSING, Mich. - Rutgers field hockey went into double overtime in search of its first conference win, but was unable to capture a victory, falling at Michigan State 5-4. RU now sits at 5-5 (0-3 Big Ten) on the year, while Michigan State improves to 4-7 (1-3 Big Ten). Rachel Yaney scored twice for the Scarlet Knights, who also got goals from Nicole Imbriaco and Alyssa Bull.
"I am very proud of the way the team fought today," head coach Meredith Civico said. "We need to be smarter about how we manage the game. We need to possess the ball and limit turnovers. We had opportunities today where we could have won the game, but we couldn't convert."
Michigan State got the first goal, with Sophie Macadre getting her first of the day 10:43 into the game. Rutgers had a quick answer, as Yaney scored her first goal of the day just 3:15 later. Yaney deflected a ball from Bull into the net to tie the game at 1-1.
The Spartans scored next, with Macadre tallying again. But again Rachel Yaney provided an answer for RU. Shortly before halftime Yaney's second goal of the day, off of a Sofia Walia assist, tied the score at 2-2.
Early in the second half, Rutgers jumped in front. Imbriaco scored her team-leading 11th goal of the season to put RU in front. Katie Champion picked up her fourth assist of the year on the play. The lead was brief, as Michigan State answered just 29 seconds later, with Macadre completing a hat trick.
Four minutes later, Bull put the Scarlet Knights back in front. Bull collected the rebound of her own shot and finished for the goal. The Spartans then came back with a goal, putting in a rebound three minutes later to re-tie the score at 4-4.
The score would remain even for the next 50 minutes of action, as the game would go into two overtime periods. With just 10 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Megan Fenton tallied to give the Spartans the win.
Michigan State held a 32-22 advantage in shots and 16-14 in penalty corners.
The Scarlet Knights will remain in East Lansing, where they will face Ohio University in a neutral-site matchup at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Game Notes
Rachel Yaney has 12 points on the year, setting a new career-high.
Yaney now has five goals on the year, tying her career-high.
It was Yaney's second career game with two goals. She had previously scored twice against Monmouth on Oct. 9, 2013.
Shevaun Hayes made 13 saves for the second time this season, tying her career-high.
Nicole Imbriaco has 11 goals on the season. Her next goal will tie her for 7th on RU's single season goals leaderboard.
The last time Rutgers played a double overtime game was Oct. 19, 2013 at No. 17 Louisville.
Rutgers scored at least four goals in a game for the sixth time this season.
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