After a quick glance at the MSU women’s soccer team, the Spartans seem to have all the ingredients to be a contender in the Big Ten and get back to the NCAA tournament. They have the experience, boasting 10 seniors on the roster; they have the offense, returning 93 percent of their scoring from last season. They have the youth, with four top-notch recruits joining the program.
“We expect to have a great year,” said Nicole Galas, senior goalkeeper and captain. “We have two good starts with our exhibition games and we expect a lot. We have a great lineup, a great system of play and some great freshmen coming in, so we expect a lot out of this year.”
After going 8-9-1 last year, the Spartans expect to have a potent offense, but it is the defense that is leaving head coach Tom Saxton a little skeptical as he heads into his 17th year at the Spartan helm.
“Our major concern as a coaching staff is, are we going to be a tight defensive team and can post (a) very nice goals against average?” Saxton said. “If that happens this year I think we can have a nice season.”
Though the Spartans have made defensive tightness a priority in practice, Saxton admits the best way for MSU to improve is to get out on the field and play.
“We’ve really been working hard on just reiterating to our veterans and our newcomers on what type of play to make given the third of the field their on,” he said. “(We’ve been) trying to simulate game situations the best we can, but there’s no substitution for an outside opponent.”
Galas, along with senior defender Erin Doan and senior midfielder Maureen Pawlak were selected as captains, and their play will be pivotal in the eyes of Saxton, who believes those three must set the tone for the team to be successful.
Other key returnees for the Spartans are sophomore forward Lauren Hill and sophomore midfielder Lauren Sinacola — the top two point getters from 2006. Senior midfielder Lauren Astray and senior defender Kelly Hannon are also key returnees.
Looking ahead to the Big Ten regular season, Saxton believes nine-time defending champion Penn State, as well as Illinois and Purdue, are the teams to beat.
“We’ve been predicted to be eighth, but that’s probably based on last year,” he said. “I do think we can be a top-half team, depending on how things unfold here we can do even better. But, after the three that I mentioned, it’s a wide open race.”
Before the Spartans start their Big Ten schedule, they have to deal with a tough non-conference schedule, and open up their season with perhaps their biggest test of the year Friday against No. 23 BYU.
“They’re certainly the most highly touted team on our non-conference schedule,” Saxton said. “With all due respect to our Big Ten competitors, they’re probably one of the best teams on our schedule without a doubt. So it will be a great test but also a great opportunity for us as well.”
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