There's a word that means a lot to MSU men's soccer coach Joe Baum.
Stability.
It's what senior goalkeeper Jason Tillman has provided plenty of in his time at MSU. Tillman, a Brighton, Mich. native, has a 25-14-6 record in three seasons as a starter. Through seven games this season, Tillman has compiled four shutouts and a 0.51 goals-against average as the Spartans have jumped out to a 5-2-0 record.
"Next year, the coaches are going to get gray hair again," Baum said. "This year, we don't worry about the goalkeeping position. Next year, it's going to be a whole new ballgame."
Baum's squad has 10 regular-season games left after today's 4 p.m. match at Bowling Green, and Tillman will be a major factor in all of them.
"I'll tell you what — he's really having a good senior year," Baum said. "He's a captain, and I think he's got a lot of confidence now as a third-year starter.
"He talks, he's good in the air, he communicates to the defense, makes all the normal saves that he has to make. We go into these games knowing, in most cases, that we're not going to give up a soft goal. I think soft goals are really demoralizing for a team."
Tillman is best known for his voice. He can be heard from nearly anywhere on Old College Field as he shouts instructions to his teammates.
"It's a very big part of my game," Tillman said. "The four of us back there, we trust each other and we all read the game very well. The communication helps in putting everyone in the right place."
That, Baum said, is almost like adding another member to the coaching staff.
"It's just wonderful because sometimes these defenders, positionally, aren't where they should be so having someone adjust them, it's almost like having a coach on the field," he said. "If you look at all big-time goalies, they communicate, they move their defenders, they let them know where they're exposed and he does a good job with that."
As Tillman has grown older, he has let the game come to him more, and the results have shown on the field. He leads the Big Ten in goals-against average and shutouts and ranks second in save percentage.
"When I first got here, you could see in my stats that I let in a lot of goals on plays that I probably could've had, but I wasn't reading the game right," Tillman said. "Now, it's a lot easier to see and a lot easier to read my players."
Baum says that that is a natural progression for soccer players to make.
"I think he's really seeing the game," Baum said. "I think when you're younger and nervous, everything is sort of buzzing around. You get to be a senior, and it slows down. And I think it's slowed down for him."
After appearing in only two games as a freshman, Tillman became MSU's starting goalkeeper in 2004. The Spartans went on a magical run that season, winning the Big Ten Tournament and earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Tillman said that's his favorite memory at MSU so far, but he hopes to replace it by the end of this season.
"It's been great to be a Spartan," Tillman said. "There's no place I'd rather play except at Old College Field."
