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Womens soccer to face formidable Penn State

October 27, 2000

The MSU women’s soccer team goes into today’s game against No. 7 Penn State with nothing to lose and a No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament to gain.

A victory at 3 p.m. at Old College Field will put the Spartans into second place in the Big Ten and earn them a No. 2 seed in November’s Big Ten Tournament - while a loss will keep the team in fifth place.

Head coach Tom Saxton said the team will be able to play loose because a loss won’t affect them in the standings.

“I don’t think we feel a lot of pressure,” Saxton said. “We look at it as an opportunity to lead (us) to our highest finish (ever) in the Big Ten, maybe make the NCAA committee take notice.”

The Nittany Lions enter today’s game without their best player, forward Christie Welsh, who is injured - a player Saxton said is the best in the Big Ten. But MSU sophomore midfielder Heidi Lutz said one player can’t win a game by herself. “They’re obviously a good team no matter what,” Lutz said. “One player doesn’t make a whole team so they’re still going to be a good team and a tough team to play.”

Saxton said since Welsh is not playing MSU will have a bit of an edge, but MSU’s most physical player, senior midfielder and co-captain Gina Dawson, is also injured. Saxton added that he would rather have Dawson in the game, even if it meant Welsh was playing too, since the scouting report says Penn State is a physical team.

“She’s been our strongest player in the midfield,” Saxton said. “We need our midfielders to step up to the highest level to cover for Gina - particularly in the physical end (since Gina is such a physical player).”

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