The Spartans have four Big Ten games remaining, three of which are road games, not including an Oct. 26 home contest against South Dakota State.

Going into this crucial section of the schedule, MSU has the nation’s top two leading point and goal scorers as well as the assists leader. The next best conference team trails the Spartans in points by 49.

And it’s not a fluke. These girls can play and they won’t stop until they win some hardware.

But until then, State News “midseason” women’s soccer awards will have to do.

Most valuable player: freshman forward Laura Heyboer

Choosing anyone else would be boneheaded, to be quite honest.

The phenomenal newbie has more points (40) than any other women’s soccer player in the NCAA, with four more than Georgia State’s Kay Harbrueger.

Heyboer has taken it all in stride, continuing to improve while not letting the hype affect her style of play. She also has an impressive eight assists, as well, to show it’s not just Heyboer Hour every time she steps on the field. She’s not afraid to hurt you by dropping a dime to a teammate.

“I just stay composed and keep myself focused to better my team as a whole,” Heyboer said. “If I keep playing my game and stay level-headed, I can really help this team.”

Most-needed veteran: senior goalkeeper Lindsey Wrege

If there’s anyone on the Spartans’ roster that knows how to keep her cool, it’s Wrege. She doesn’t need loads of flash and zip to show spectators her talent.

In more than 1,300 minutes of gameplay, the veteran has only let 11 goals slip past her this season, averaging out to just one goal for every 120 minutes — a half-hour longer than an entire game.

“She’s really showing her presence back there,” head coach Tom Saxton said. “We told her she had to be more vocal and that’s been a positive ongoing process.”

Wrege has 57 saves and six shutouts on the year.

Most underrated: the defensive line

With all the numbers the Spartans offense has racked up this year, we can’t forget about the women helping Wrege keep it out of the net.

Freshman Katelin Chaklos, sophomore Courtney Shegos, junior Megan Brown and senior Kelley Amormino make up the four solid members of the back line who strive to keep the ball out of MSU’s zone.

Talking to any one of them for just 30 seconds would show you how unselfish they are, which is why these honors couldn’t go to just a single player, but all four of them.

“Since our two back-to-back losses to Illinois and Purdue, we realized we had to bounce back, be more vocal and stick up for each other,” Shegos said. “We can’t get down on ourselves when things don’t go our way. Playing through it is big and that’s what we’re doing.”

Unsung hero: sophomore midfielder Cara Freeman

When you switch from one position to another in the middle of the season, it isn’t easy.

But Freeman has found a way to make it look incredibly easy. Just watching Freeman in action shows how much the team needs her, showing her agility and fundamentally sound technical skills.

When the ball is in her possession, there’s no way you’re taking it away from her.

She’s recorded eight goals and three assists while being tied for third in the Big Ten’s points and goals categories.

“No matter what we go through every week, we focus and continue doing what we’re doing,” Freeman said. “We keep each other going.”

Stellar up-and-comer: freshman forward Sarah Stern

If there’s one thing you’ll notice about Stern, it’s her speed.

While everyone else runs fast, Stern is on a completely different level — shown perfectly Sunday when she simply outhustled every Penn State defender to put her team up 3-1, scoring her first collegiate goal.

“That gave her the confidence she needs, I think, to get her comfortable with where she needs to be to show how talented and athletic she is,” Saxton said. “She was a great addition to this team.”