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DeMartin hat trick leads No. 16 Spartans past Broncos in nonconference matinee

October 24, 2007

Junior forward Doug DeMartin heads the ball against Western Michigan defender Kyle Hall. DeMartin scored three goals against the Broncos on Wednesday.

Photo by Jason Chiou | The State News

Junior forward Doug DeMartin has had big games against Western Michigan in the past.

As a freshman, he had a goal in a 2-0 win over the Broncos.

As a sophomore, he had a goal and an assist in a 4-0 blanking over Western Michigan.

On Wednesday DeMartin added to his success against the Broncos, scoring a hat trick in the No. 16 Spartans’ 4-1 rout at Old College Field.

After doing so well, it would seem that DeMartin has the Broncos’ number.

“I don’t know if I want to say that,” DeMartin said, “I have had success against them so … You got to take it game by game and if it happens to be Western that I’ve had success against, that’s just how it goes.”

DeMartin opened the scoring on the Spartans’ first shot of the game, taking a pass from senior midfielder Ryan Dick and scoring from 10 yards out.

Dick hooked up with DeMartin again at 5:07, on almost the same play, sending DeMartin a volley off a pass from junior defender David Hertel.

DeMartin scored consecutive goals in the first five minutes of the game to get the Spartans out on the right track.

DeMartin’s second goal proved to be the game winner.

The hat trick was completed in the 87th minute as DeMartin scored on a breakaway against Western goalie Casey Aubil.

With his three-goal effort, DeMartin now has 11 goals on the season and remains the leading scorer in the Big Ten. He finished the game with a season-high eight shots as well.

“He’s incredible — to me he’s as good a forward as there is in the Big Ten,” MSU head coach Joe Baum said.

“We’ve played everybody now except Northwestern and Ohio State; we kind of know what they have. He’s a legit All-Big Ten forward — today I think he proved it once again.”

MSU (11-1-3 overall) controlled the play for most of the game, firing 21 shots to the Broncos’ eight.

Its lone goal, which came just 3:14 into the game, was Western Michigan’s first goal against the Spartans in the last three matches between the two teams. MSU won, 2-0, in 2005, and 4-0 in 2006.

Junior forward Louis Stephens III added a tally for the Spartans in the 73rd minute, taking a volley from the right side.

Stevens had several chances for a hat trick himself, but missed a few shots, including a wide-open shot after taking a pass from senior defender Rauwshan McKenzie.

“I had a chance to finish it and I went wide with it,” Stephens said.

“(It was) maybe not enough mental focus, and it was bad on my part, but we came away with the win,”

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The Spartans resume Big Ten play with a tough test Sunday when they travel to Evanston, Ill. to take on No. 9 Northwestern.

“We got three left. We got to win one for sure,” Baum said, “You know me I’m going to take them one at a time, so we’re just looking to Northwestern.

“We really believe if we get a win over Northwestern we’re going to make a statement as a team.”

The Spartans will close out Big Ten play following the Northwestern tilt in games against Cincinnati and Ohio State.

The Big Ten tournament is scheduled to begin Nov. 8 and will be held on the Spartans home turf in East Lansing.

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