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Hill's pair paces Spartans over Titans

September 12, 2007

Sophomore forward Lauren Hill from the MSU women’s soccer team moves the ball toward the goal during the game against the Detroit Titans on Wednesday evening. The Spartans were victorious with a score of 3-0. Hill made two goals.

Photo by Hannah Engelson | The State News

Coming off a tough overtime loss to Lehigh on Sunday, the MSU women’s soccer team was looking for a rebound performance Wednesday against Detroit Mercy.

They got it.

Behind two goals from sophomore forward Lauren Hill and a stifling defense, the Spartans (3-2) cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Titans (0-4) at Old College Field.

“As you’re building a team during a season, when you take a step back you have to follow that up with your best effort to date,” MSU head coach Tom Saxton said. “I think we did that.”

MSU outshot Detroit Mercy 14-2. Ten of those 14 shots were on goal.

“Our defense was very, very solid, very organized,” Saxton said. “It really kept U of D from threatening us at any point in the match.”

MSU did not allow the Titans a shot in the first half but couldn’t get its offense on the board until the 34:07 mark.

Hill, taking a pass from sophomore midfielder Megan Brown, burst down the right wing and put it into the left corner to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

Hill put the Spartans on the board again just over seven minutes later when Brown served up a perfect ball for Hill to head into the back of the goal. It was her third goal of the season.

Already with 11 goals in her short career at MSU, Saxton said he believes Hill can be one of the top forwards in program history.

“She’s a special player, and she means a great deal to our team and to our offense,” Saxton said. “She’s disappointed if she completes a match and doesn’t score. You have to continue to be hungry if you’re going to be a great forward.”

Hill said she’s just excited to score goals.

“That’s my job,” she said. “I’m getting it done, and hopefully I can keep doing that.”

After putting two goals on the board and heading into halftime with the lead, the Spartans let their talent and depth take over in the second half, stifling the young Titans at every turn.

“We tried to play high pressure coming in,” Saxton said. “We subbed a lot up top, and we really wanted our forwards to work hard to pressure their backs. Other than a couple letdowns in the first half, I think we maintained that pretty well throughout the match.”

MSU added another goal late in the game off the foot of senior midfielder Maureen Pawlak on a free kick for the final margin.

With a week until their next game against Eastern Michigan, this game gives the Spartans confidence heading into the break.

“We needed a performance to build on, particularly in our attack,” Saxton said. “Our attack stalled a little bit out East last weekend, and I think we had some really good passing sequences that set up chances. They kept trying to do the right things and that was good for us.”

The Spartans return to action Wed., Sept. 19.

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