After nine years of playing away in the Big Ten Tournament, the MSU women's soccer team finally has the opportunity to play at home.
"We're all very excited," head coach Tom Saxton said. "We've traveled long trips all year, and it's a really good situation to be at home. Hopefully it will be an exciting and positive weekend for us."
Eight of the 11 conference teams will be featured in the tourney, including Big Ten regular season champion Penn State (15-2-1 overall, 9-1 Big Ten), Michigan (13-5-1, 7-2-1), Purdue (12-4-2, 6-3-1), Wisconsin (10-7-3, 4-4-2), Indiana (10-6-2, 4-4-2), Ohio State (7-10-1, 4-5-1) and Illinois (8-10-1, 4-6).
Quarterfinals begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, with game one featuring the second-seeded Wolverines against seventh-seeded Ohio State.
Third-seeded Purdue and the sixth-seeded Hoosiers will begin game two at noon.
Game three will take place at 3 p.m. and will feature top-seeded Penn State against eighth-seeded Illinois, which squeaked into the tourney with a 3-2 win over Purdue on Sunday.
MSU (12-5-2, 5-3-2) nabbed the fourth seed and has drawn perhaps the most difficult road to the finals, with matchups against fifth-seeded Wisconsin and a possible second-round matchup with Penn State.
But junior defender and team captain Andrea Sied said the Spartans are more than ready for the challenge.
"We're not too concerned," Sied said. "I think we believe that we can beat anybody any day. As long as we're playing our best we don't have to worry about who we're playing."
The Spartans will take on the Badgers on Thursday night in the first game of the tournament played under the lights at Old College Field.
"The lights are going to change things a bit," Saxton said. "But in terms of just being under the lights and being at home, it's going to be an emotional lift for us, and that's certainly what I'm expecting."
MSU looks to avenge a 3-1 loss to Wisconsin in Madison on Sept. 29. The Badgers scored the game's first three goals, two from midfielder Jenny Kundert. Freshman midfielder Erin Konheim mustered the Spartans' only offense of the game in the 51st minute to give MSU its first Big Ten loss.
Saxton said that in any sport it's hard to beat the same team twice in one season, adding he thinks the Wisconsin matchup will give his team a psychological edge with the home-field advantage.
"I honestly wanted to play Wisconsin, to draw a team that has beaten us already so that we could get revenge," Saxton said.
If the Spartans are successful with Wisconsin, they return to Old College Field on Friday for a second night game at 6:30 p.m., against the winner of Thursday's Penn State-Illinois matchup.
Earlier in the season, the Nittany Lions handed MSU what turned out to be its only home loss in a 3-0 decision, lighting a fire under the Spartans.
"Old College Field is definitely our home," junior netminder Stacy Heller said. "It's a homey atmosphere compared to surrounding places, and we just want to protect our field.
"No one comes into our house and pushes us around. As cliché as that sounds, we believe that."
The winner of the 6:30 p.m. game will play 1 p.m. Sunday for the Big Ten Championship.
Single day tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and those 18 or under. Three-day tickets also are available. Tickets can be purchased at the gate and Jenison Field House or by calling (800) GO-STATE or (517) 355-1610.
