The MSU women's soccer team (0-1-1 overall) will look to break into the win column today when they face Texas A&M (2-0), ranked 6th in the NSCAA poll, as part of the Big Ten vs. Big 12 Challenge.
MSU head coach Tom Saxton is looking forward to the opportunity to take on one of the top teams in the country.
"They (Texas A&M) are a powerhouse, they are probably one of the best teams to come onto our campus in a few years," Saxton said. "It's a great challenge for us; we get to see how we measure up against the nation's best teams."
Texas A&M is returning 10 starters from a team that won both the regular season and tournament championships in the Big 12 Conference, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Texas A&M is led by forward Ashlee Pistorius, who was the nation's leading freshman scorer last season.
MSU will look to spark an offense that scored just one goal in two games last weekend in a 1-1 tie against Kentucky and a 1-0 loss to Cincinnati.
"We are trying to be more efficient offensively," Saxton said. "We were able to get forward in both games, but we didn't get good shots on goal."
Senior forward Emma Harris, the leading scorer from last year's team, is hoping that some of the changes the team has worked on in practice will pay off this weekend, but thinks the Spartans' attitude is in the right place.
"We are really trying to stay positive because if you start putting too much pressure on yourself, you can get down and then nothing really changes," Harris said.
Saxton is hoping that the MSU defense is as sound against Texas A&M this weekend as it was in the team's first two games. Texas A&M has scored seven goals in their first two contests, while holding their opponents scoreless.
Sophomore goaltender Nicole Galas stopped nine shots in each of last weekend's contests. Despite never starting in goal before this season, Galas' play was one of the major positives Saxton took from the first two games.
"We grade our players after every game and after Friday and Sunday, she (Galas) was our only 'A'. She played great," Saxton said.
Galas was satisfied with the way she and the defense played, but felt that the team as a whole could do more to improve the overall result.
"We need to do what we can to help them out by getting them the ball in better position to attack the opposing defense," Galas said.
Saxton said this is one of MSU's toughest non-conference schedules in years, and he is hoping the challenge of playing against top competition will prepare them for their Big Ten season.
"We may take a few more lumps early on this year but we absolutely are looking to take a step up in terms of where we finish in the Big Ten," Saxton said.
Last season the Spartans were 9-1 in non-conference play but finished with a record of 3-6-1 in the Big Ten and missed out on the conference tournament.
Harris is hoping that this weekend will be the first step in improving that record.
"When a team comes in with a national ranking, it's very exciting. We can use that as a gauge for where we're at," Harris said. "Hopefully we can come away with wins which will give us a lot of confidence going into our Big Ten season."
The game against Texas A&M is scheduled to begin today at 4:00 p.m. at Old College Field. MSU will then play host to the University of Texas at 4:00 p.m. Sunday.
