The MSU women’s soccer team’s pregame checklist was a bit lengthy. But in all actuality, all the Spartans had to do in order to get everything they wanted was pick up the victory.
So after their 1-1 tie against Michigan on Friday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field, the Spartans were only able to check half their bullet points on the list.
Go unbeaten in East Lansing: Check
Finish the season over .500 in the Big Ten: Check
Tie the program’s all-time wins record (14) in a season: Fail
Take the all-time series lead against their rival in the 23rd meeting in history: Fail
And although many of the Spartans were left with their heads down, not satisfied with the way they played or the way things panned out, MSU had to be happy with its come-from-behind performance to tie the Wolverines, as opposed to dropping the game and not being able to hit any of their regular-season-ending aspirations.
When you give Laura Heyboer an inch, she doesn’t just take a mile.
She takes her opponents’ hopes of winning, lines them up and utterly destroys them, using just her plain ole right and left feet.
And with their backs against the wall, the Spartans looked to the freshman forward to give them a charge and put them back into the contest, after trailing 1-0 in the second half.
“I thought it was really important that she got a breakthrough there,” MSU head coach Tom Saxton said. “As teams really start to learn about her and get to know her and key on her now, I think she was really hungry to score again this week, watching her in practice this week. To get a goal like that is great for her going into the tournament.”
U-M’s one goal came from Amanda Bowery when she crept up into the middle of the field near the top of the 18-yard box, received a pass from Kristen Goncalves and smashed a shot that whizzed by freshman goalkeeper Jill Fliestra’s outstretched fingertips just 3:56 into the half.
Nearly 20 minutes later, freshman forward Hannah Peterson kicked a centering pass which was settled by junior forward Lauren Hill and dished off to Heyboer for a one-timer that slid into the corner of the goal, her 19th of the season, tying the game, 1-1.
“Hannah Peterson sent a great ball in, Lo (Hill) just had the touch and it took the right curve and the right bounce for me and I just one-timed it,” Heyboer said.
In every week of the season, Heyboer led the Big Ten in both points and goals. She also led the nation in points (45) through Oct. 26, as well as being tied for third in goals (18).
The Spartans were unable to capitalize in the closing stages of the game, including the two 10-minute overtime periods.
And after 110 minutes of play, neither side came down with a victory. But ties aren’t always so bad.
“It’s always great to have a win against Michigan but a tie is OK,” junior midfielder Lauren Sinacola said. “We are still unbeaten here at DeMartin (Stadium). We wanted to have that legacy here. We worked our butts off today and I couldn’t be happier with my team. We left everything on that field today.”
Saxton said he understands ties are a part of soccer, but with how banged-up and bruised his team has been, finishing off the season on any sort of a positive note is the most he could ask for.
MSU hits the road next Friday to Iowa City, Iowa for the Big Ten Tournament. Pairings will be announced by the conference on Monday.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
“We are pumped to go play in Iowa,” Sinacola said. “Our team is on a high right now, we all know exactly how to play with everyone else and we are extremely confident right now. It’s going to be fun.”
