The women’s team capped off its season at 14-7-3 and went undefeated at home, but was knocked out of the Big Dance in the second round by an undefeated No. 1 Notre Dame team.

But with some disappointment comes a lot more hope for the future, as each squad put MSU on the map, establishing East Lansing as a hotbed for soccer prowess.

Here is the list of awards coming from the two reporters who covered the teams through the highs and lows of the season.

Most valuable player: (tie) senior forward Doug DeMartin and freshman forward Laura Heyboer

For the sake of not wanting to ruin our friendship, we settled on a tie.

It’s impossible to distinguish who had a bigger impact on their team. We’re going out on a limb, not being able to decipher who was more dominant, handing the hardware to both Spartans leaders.

DeMartin and Heyboer are both up for NCAA National Player of the Year, scoring a combined 38 goals with 12 assists for a grand total of 88 points.

Both went up against extreme adversity as the seasons pressed on, finding themselves on every opponent’s scouting report yet still managing to throw down tremendous statistics.

In double and triple coverage, the two were mirror images of each other, shedding defenders, slipping through small gaps and slashing to the net to do whatever it took to put the ball in the back of the net.

Unsung hero: men’s team defensive line

Over the last eight games of the season, the Spartans defense didn’t allow a single goal.

That totaled 812 consecutive minutes of scoreless soccer.

The defensive line, consisting of seniors David Hertel and Josh Rogers, and sophomores Nosa Iyoha and Jake Fullerton, completely shut down the opposition. Their stout defensive efforts allowed the offense to focus on scoring one goal a game to secure a victory.

Plus sophomore goalkeeper Avery Steinlage played like a wall between the woodwork and made one spectacular save after another down the stretch and helped turn the team around after a rough start.

Without the defensive effort, it’s questionable if the team would have had such success, even with a talented forward like DeMartin up top.

Warrior: junior forward Lauren Hill

If you even looked at her the wrong way on the field, she’d let you know about it.

Hill took one or two (or sometimes both) routes in dealing with someone who did such a thing.

She’d either throw you down to the ground, or run around you and torch the back of the net with a heat-seeking shot.

Her tenacity was unmatched, and there wasn’t a single person on the soccer field who could take that edge away from her.

Most refused to even try.

Not to mention Hill missed the first game of the season because of a red card in the previous season’s final game — talk about being a soccer rebel.

When she wasn’t tilting her eyebrows in disgust at those who knocked her down or glaring back into their eyes for dirty play, she was putting up huge numbers, proving she is the epitome of someone who can not only talk-the-talk but walk-the-walk too.

Hill scored 12 goals and dished out nine assists for 33 points, right behind Heyboer for the Big Ten’s second-leading points getter.

Ironman: 32-year men’s head coach Joe Baum

He wasn’t out there jumping for 50-50 balls, but the impact and commitment Baum showed in developing both soccer programs will forever make him a legend, not only to MSU’s campus, but to college soccer overall.

His straggly beard and calm demeanor set him apart from other coaches and attracted players from across the country into a program that Baum built with his bare hands.

The Spartans gathered around the motivation of Baum’s final season as head coach and made sure to leave it all on field for the man who spent more than half his life serving MSU.

After 32 years, Baum has seen everything and tells it like it is. His decision to stay on board as an assistant coach will help the program continue to flourish.

Best single-game performance: Heyboer’s MSU debut, hat trick

In comes an 18-year-old girl with a freshly made Spartans jersey and an innocent mind to college life with no idea what was in store for her.

Except for Heyboer, the word “transition” isn’t in her vocabulary.

In her first collegiate soccer game against Oakland on Aug. 22, the Hudsonville native netted three goals, giving her a hat trick before she even had time to take a water break and kick the dirt off the bottom of her cleats.

MSU won 5-1, and many Spartans said the game kicked their season into the right direction, moving forward to win the next eight games.

Best single game: men’s soccer vs. Northwestern, 1-0 victory to clinch conference title

If the Spartans could muster a victory against highly favored Northwestern in the last home game of the season, they would capture a Big Ten title for the first time in program history.

To add extra incentive, it was Baum’s last regular-season home game, and the Spartans set a preseason goal to make this year the most memorable season to date for the devoted manager.

The game went back-and-forth throughout, and a goal by senior forward Louis Stephens III in the 55th minute gave the Spartans all they needed to close out the victory and capture the regular-season crown.

With the bleachers packed and alumni gathered to celebrate Baum’s last regular-season game, the Spartans didn’t disappoint and put forth their best effort all year.