A win in Friday’s game at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field might not have the same impact for the MSU women’s soccer team as it would for Eastern Michigan, but that doesn’t mean the Spartans are taking the competition lightly.
Last September, Eastern Michigan (2-0-1) dueled MSU (2-1) for 110 minutes but neither side managed to pull away with a victory, finishing in a 1-1 draw.
“We need to go out and take care of business,” said Tom Saxton, MSU’s head coach. “Eastern (Michigan) is a very difficult team to beat. They treat the game just like Western, it’s their biggest of the season.”
Eastern Michigan might look at Friday’s game as a huge opportunity to pull off an upset, but the Spartans know they should win the game, which will kickoff at 5 p.m. Saturday at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.
“We’re Michigan State, we can come out and win,” laughed Cara Freeman, MSU senior midfielder and co-captain. “It’s Eastern.”
Freeman, however, said she remembers last season’s overtime thriller in which the Spartans outshot the Eagles 33-12, but had trouble finishing.
“We definitely need to earn a result,” she said. “Friday is going to be a big test and from here on out. It’s only going to get tougher and tougher going into the Big Ten.
“We need to get our act together really quick. We need to find out who we are as a team and (then) we’ll figure it out from there.”
Getting its act together is exactly what Saxton hopes the team will do this weekend and said the team has been taking steps forward all week.
“We did make progress with our attack and with how we’re going to utilize different players,” he said. “We’re going to continue to try to build on that… as we get ready for a tough weekend.”
Heading into Friday, the Spartans are having the same problem finishing, scoring two goals through three games on 27 shot attempts.
Senior defender Samantha Cook said finishing was emphasized in practice this week and is chalking up the slow start as just a small stretch of difficult games.
“Sometimes we have off-games,” she said. “Our forwards and attackers are doing well, it’s just sometimes games are like that.”
The spark Friday could come through two-time All-American Laura Heyboer, who, after four shots through the season’s first two games, recorded six and scored her first goal against Western Michigan last Sunday.
“Getting the first goal is always the tough part,” Freeman said. “Once you get that first one they all just seem to fall.”
Heyboer’s goal was great for her confidence, but meant just as much to the team, Saxton said.
“It’s a good step for her and the team because we need her to score goals,” he said.
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