Following today’s match, the Spartans host Bowling Green on Friday and travel to Central Michigan on Sunday.

Saxton prepared the team for the grueling schedule by having a light workout Sunday and an off day on Monday.

“This was a very unique weekend off, just kind of a scheduling quirk,” Saxton said.

“We wanted to help the players who have put in a lot of minutes already this year recover a little bit.

In other areas, players who haven’t gotten a lot of minutes, we were able to push them and give them a chance to maintain their fitness.”

Saxton was hoping that another easy practice Tuesday would leave the girls with fresh legs for the match against Eastern Michigan (2-2-1).

“It’s a dangerous team and they always play their very best against us,” Saxton said of the Eagles.

“I think what we have to do is make sure that we’re emotionally prepared, we’re not taking them lightly first and foremost. I think we have to be really efficient on finishing our chances. If we’re given opportunities, we have to put them away.”

Sibling Showdown

Today’s MSU, Eastern Michigan battle also pits sophomore forward Lauren Hill against her sister Lindsay, a senior defender for the Eagles.

This is the second time the sisters have faced each other, the other time being last year’s 0-0 draw between the two schools early in the 2006 season.

“We’re really close,” Hill said of their relationship.

“We didn’t used to be when during high school and everything, but we started getting closer when we went off to college.”

The two haven’t seen each other since the beginning of the soccer season, and though they haven’t talked much about the match, they each know what to expect from one another.

“We just know that it’s going to be fun and we’re going to talk crap to each other,” she said.

“Since she’s a defender and I’m a forward, I’m going to try to beat her as much as I can.”