It was a tough afternoon for the #12-ranked Ohio State field hockey team (7-6, 3-2) in East Lansing, Mich. Sunday, as they fell, 4-3, to the Michigan State Spartans (5-9, 1-4). It was the first Big Ten victory for the Spartans.

The Buckeyes took a 2-0 lead in the first two quarters after goals from Raleigh Kerst and Katie Fichtner. Just before the halftime break, Michigan State got on the board with a penalty stroke goal from Bianca Pizano.

The Spartans then scored the next three goals to take a 4-2 lead with 4:18 left in the 4th quarter. OSU’s Makenna Webster cut the lead to one when she scored at the 56:32 mark, but that was all the Buckeyes could manage on the afternoon.

Webster now has 17 goals to lead Ohio State, which matches her season-high from 2023. Kerst has four goals this season, Fichtner has three. Victoria Kutz, Anne Marie Krebs, and Olivia Wallace all recorded assists Sunday.

All six of the Buckeyes’ losses have been by a single goal, one in overtime, two in double overtime. Four of the losses have been to teams ranked in the nation’s top twenty.

Ohio State has two games on the road next weekend. They play at Indiana Friday beginning at 3:00 p.m. and then at #1-ranked Northwestern Sunday at noon. Both games can be seen on the Big Ten+ network.