No. 19 MSU swept its two games during the weekend in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge with a 1-0 win against Marquette on Friday at home and a 2-0 victory at Notre Dame on Sunday.

Although the challenge helped MSU improve to 5-1 on the season, the weekend showed how strong the Big Ten Conference is, senior midfielder and co-captain Jeff Ricondo said.

“Every time we’re able to play a Big East team, we represent not only Michigan State, but the Big Ten Conference as a whole,” Ricondo said. “Being able to play two Big East teams and come away with two big victories is good for us.”

The weekend’s challenge will help come NCAA Tournament time, head coach Damon Rensing said.

“Well, it’s good for the conference, it says a lot about the Big Ten, in our program and in our schedule,” Rensing said. “It was a great result for us and as we start to get to NCAA tournament selection time, when you start to win games on the road against prominent teams like Notre Dame and Maryland that’s going to go a long way.”

Big Ten play

The Spartans travel to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne on Wednesday and then begin Big Ten Conference play against Northwestern on Sunday at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.

MSU was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten in the preseason poll, but heading into conference play, MSU likely will be the highest-ranked in the conference.

Along with MSU sweeping this weekend, Ohio State, the only team in the Big Ten ranked ahead of MSU, lost both its games.

Ricondo said the team is trying to prove it’s better than people give them credit for.

“We were confident coming into the season; we all saw that we were suppose to finish fifth this year, so that was sort of a slap in the face,” he said. “But I think that just put pressure on us, not necessarily to do well, but to prove everybody else wrong. I think we’re definitely doing that so far.”

Player honors

Senior goalie Avery Steinlage and junior midfielder Cyrus Saydee were honored as Big Ten Players of the Week, the conference announced Monday.

Steinlage was named Defensive Player of the Week as he recorded his first full-game shutouts on the season in the wins against Marquette and Notre Dame. He has held opponents scoreless in his last four appearances since the 4-0 loss to Georgetown, a total of 336:24.

Saydee was named conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week with the lone goal against Marquette and assists on both of junior forward Domenic Barone’s goals against Notre Dame.

The weekend helped give more than just him a boost in confidence, Saydee said.

“I know Notre Dame was a good team,” he said. “We
expected them to play hard and give us a tough game and thankfully we came out victorious. And getting shutouts is always good. It shows we can play together well.”