But head coach Tom Saxton said although the score may look otherwise for MSU (13-5-2 overall, 5-4-1 Big Ten), the contest was by no means a one-sided affair.

“We’ll be able to counter what we saw from the first time we played them,” the 18th-year coach said. “We felt like we had our chances against them. I do think this game will be in our favor because our front-runners are continuing to gel, although they haven’t scored as much in the last couple weeks, they are definitely still on the same wavelength and can be very dangerous.”

And according to the statistics, that’s exactly what freshman forward Laura Heyboer and junior forward Lauren Hill have been all year — topping conference leaderboards and climbing the MSU record books week by week.

With the regular season coming to a close, Heyboer and Hill finished No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in points (47, 33), points per game (2.35, 1.74), goals (19, 12) and goals per game (0.95, 0.63). Junior midfielder Lauren Sinacola capped off her year atop the Big Ten assists column, finishing with 10.

All of the high-powered scoring and passing shot the Spartans, as a whole, ahead of the remaining 10 Big Ten schools statistically — ranking No. 1 in points (144), goals (46) and assists (52).

One big issue that has been on Saxton’s mind throughout the season is his team’s ability to stay healthy enough to grind out and string together some wins and snatch up a championship.

Throughout the season, the Spartans have lost big-time players to season-ending injuries (senior midfielder/forward Kristi Timar), as well as having to sit large contributors because of back strain, ankle and knee soreness as well as bumps and bruises (Sinacola, Hill, sophomore midfielder Cara Freeman and many others).

But through it all, others have stepped up. One of those, sophomore Kelsey Tait, switched from defender to midfielder to fill some holes in the lineup.

“I just kept working hard and stepping up in every practice,” Tait said. “I’ve been pushing the young girls, especially those in the midfield, doing whatever I could to help my team. I wanted us to get better and I feel like we really have.”

Through all the switching around and injury talk, one name that has never come up is Heyboer’s.

The Hudsonville native said she won’t let up in the slightest, either — only pressing down on the gas harder in the postseason, just like she did for Unity Christian High School, winning four state championships.

“I’m pumped and I’m ready to go,” Heyboer said. “Those high school games will definitely prepare me for the tournament because I know what to do to be mentally and physically prepared. I’ve been a part of the bigger games and that’s going to help out a lot now.”

MSU will have to keep an eye on the Fighting Illini’s Emily Zurrer, a Canadian Olympic player who Saxton said is utterly deadly on corner kicks.

“We must devise a defensive strategy for her and those kicks because she’s one of the most threatening players from there,” he said.

“That’s what put the game away from (Illinois) the first time down there.”

If the Spartans defeat Illinois on Thursday, they would head into a 4:30 p.m. semifinal game on Friday against the winner of the No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 8 Iowa contest. MSU beat both squads at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field during the regular season.