Heading into a two-game road series last weekend, the Spartans (9-4-3 overall, 3-2-2 in the Big Ten) were in need of a win to keep their conference championship hopes alive. However, the team fell, 2-0, to Wisconsin on Friday and fought to a 1-1 tie against Minnesota on Sunday.

“Last weekend, (the) results showed we didn’t do very well, but I think if you go back to the games, we played really well at certain times,” senior defender Courtney Shegos said. “Obviously we didn’t get the job done but I’m happy with the way we responded to our loss against Wisconsin.”

With Ohio State having 21 points in conference play and MSU having 11, even if the Spartans win out in their final three games they can’t match the Buckeyes’ total.

“Heading into these last three games, our goal is going to be getting a couple of wins and getting into postseason play,” junior goalkeeper Jill Flietstra said. “I don’t think our goal is to win a Big Ten championship because we know that’s out of our reach right now, but getting a couple of Big Ten wins (this weekend) will be really important to get into the postseason.”

MSU head coach Tom Saxton said the team surely has a possibility of playing in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, especially looking at their strength of schedule.

The 2009 Spartans had an 11-5-4 record which was enough to propel them into the postseason tournament, which still is feasible for this year’s team.

“Many of the Big Ten teams are trying to find a way to get enough done and we’re hoping the NCAA selection committee will call our name, but it’s in the back of our minds,” Saxton said. “We just need to get it done right now.”

Saxton said even more so than fighting for a tournament bid, this weekend’s series needs to be about finishing strong for the seniors. The seniors will play their final two home games and so far the team has yet to lose at home, boasting a 6-0-1 record.

“Knowing that we’ve had such a good record here, we want to keep it going and to end with two victories would be awesome,” Shegos said. “It’s going to be a hard-fought two games, but I think we can get it done with the leadership we have and the depth.”

What makes it more impressive is the fact Flietstra, Shegos and the rest of the Spartans’ defense has not allowed a single goal to slip by into the net at home this season.

The seven home shutouts have helped Flietstra to 11 total and she is one blank sheet away from tying the school’s single-season record.

“We all love our seniors and we really want to send them out on a high note,” Flietstra said. “If we can keep the shutouts going at home, and get some wins here we can send them off with the best feeling ever.”

If the Spartans want to avoid the same predicament as last season — a game against a ranked Ohio State team in the final game of the season to decide if they would go to the NCAA Tournament — they cannot drop one this weekend.

However, Illinois’ offense is statistically one of the best in the country, forcing the third most shots and goals in the Big Ten.

The Fighting Illini also have Vanessa DiBernardo, a freshman who is tied with junior forward Laura Heyboer for the Big Ten lead in goals (10).

“We’re going to have to be physical with them, be organized, make sure our communication is as good as it can be because we know they’re going to be coming at us,” Flietstra said. “They’ve scored a lot on us the past three years. We know what they’re capable of and we’re just going to try and shut them down.”

The team squares off against Iowa on Sunday, who is 0-6-1 in Big Ten play. Saxton said the team needs to take one game at a time and not focus at all on Iowa until after they play Illinois. Although after seeing how the conference has been this year, he has one thing he knows he’ll say to his team prior to the game.

“Despite some of the teams not having as strong a record as they want to, the games have been very close and it is really true that anybody can beat anybody on a given day this year,” Saxton said.