After a rough weekend marred by two losses, the MSU volleyball team is looking to get its feet back under itself with a win on Wednesday. The team, however, that the Spartans are going up against isn’t just a regular team — it’s their in-state rival, Michigan.
As fans pack DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field for the MSU women’s soccer team, it’s the key players, big goals and critical coaching decisions that merit admiration. But in order to get the Spartans in optimal game condition, it’s the team’s resident managers who do the dirty work that often is unnoticed.
For Kevin Cope, there’s something special about in-state rivalry soccer. The junior defender said he’s looking forward to the MSU men’s soccer (5-7-1, 1-2-0 Big Ten) battle against Oakland Wednesday night, hopefully giving the Golden Grizzlies their first home loss of the season.
For the second time in as many weeks, junior tight end Dion Sims has been left off MSU’s weekly depth chart.
After battling all day through the cold, wind and rain, the Spartans’ defense took the field with 5:47 remaining, a 13-6 lead and the chance to end the game. For the first time all season, the MSU football team (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) had captured a halftime lead at home, and managed to build on it throughout the game. There wasn’t a need for a Herculean play to change momentum, just one more stop. But in the final minutes, with the game on the line,” the Spartan defense couldn’t get the ball back”:http://statenews.com/article/2012/10/thunderstruck, allowing Iowa (4-2, 2-0) to use nine plays to drive 68 yards for a game-tying touchdown with 55 seconds remaining. The inability for MSU’s defense to make a stop in the game’s final minutes has become a recurring trend dating back to losses to both Ohio State and Notre Dame earlier in the season. “There’s no doubt about it,” MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said about the defense’s late-game struggles.
In the middle of fall camp, quarterbacks coach Dave Warner gave his junior quarterback a strong vote of confidence, predicting Andrew Maxwell would perform at the same level as graduated quarterback Kirk Cousins did in 2011.
If the MSU women’s soccer team (8-6-2, 2-5-1 Big Ten) wants to go on another road trip this season, it must perform under the pressure that will ensue this weekend.
To young fans, the athletes of their favorite teams can be larger-than-life icons. To most people, the athletes who were watched and learned from were just regular people playing a game; they were the idols that fans hoped to meet one day.
A new face in a Spartan jersey is standing in front of the net at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field. Freshman goalie Zach Bennett of the MSU men’s soccer team (5-7-1) started the past three games for MSU, winning two and losing one.
Andrew Maxwell had done it 233 straight times without a problem. Yet the 234th time was different, resulting in a moment that might change the course of the Spartans’ season. The junior quarterback dropped back to pass and, for the first time since the season opener, was intercepted, abruptly ending the game in double overtime, as the MSU football team (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) fell to Iowa, (4-2, 2-0) 19-16. It was a stunning loss, as the Spartans led up until the final minute of regulation. “Tough football game today,” head coach Mark Dantonio said afterward.
Since MSU’s first loss of the season, at home against then-No. 20 Notre Dame, we’ve become familiar with the Spartans’ mantra. “All our goals are still in front of us.” After barely eking out a victory over Eastern Michigan, a team that has yet to register a win six games into the season? “All our goals are still in front of us.” After dropping the Big Ten opener by one point to Ohio State before a national audience? “All our goals are still in front of us.” After needing a big second half to overcome Indiana, a team that hasn’t beaten a conference opponent since the final game of the 2010 campaign? “All our goals are still in front of us.” And now, after the Spartans (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) suffered a Jose Valverde-caliber meltdown to lose in double overtime to the Iowa Hawkeyes in Spartan Stadium on Homecoming? “I think we have to look at where we are as a program right now and what’s the next step for us,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. Sure, mathematically, the Spartans still have a chance to win the Legends Division and earn a trip to Indianapolis.
After a late night out, a slow start on Saturday morning and noticing the dismal weather, elementary education junior Ali Scott still was determined to go to the MSU Homecoming game.
As human biology senior Dylan McKay, soaking wet and cold, sat ringing out his socks after MSU’s loss against Iowa, he thought Saturday had to be the coldest game with the worst weather he’d ever experienced in his time visiting Spartan Stadium. But he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
As sparks flew, all the eyes in Breslin Center turned skyward Friday night at Midnight Madness as an Iron Man suit flew across the floor to help kick off the basketball season for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The No. 1/2-ranked Minnesota lived up to its ranking this weekend, sweeping MSU hockey (1-2-0) in a season-opening weekend.
The MSU volleyball team had a pair of games in Jenison Field House over the weekend, but not even the home crowd could push the Spartans to victory.
It was a tale of two halves as the MSU women’s soccer team (8-6-2 overall, 2-5-1 Big Ten) lost to Indiana (8-7-1, 3-5-0) in a thrilling double-overtime game.
After a rough week of athletics, the No. 19 MSU field hockey team finally gave the Spartan faithful something to cheer about as the Spartans took home a 4-2 victory against Kent State on Sunday.
The No. 25 MSU volleyball team came out storming, winning the first two sets against No. 23 Illinois, but mental and physical errors bogged down the Spartans, as they lost in five sets (25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 16-25, 8-15).
When he stood at the podium Tuesday for his weekly press conference, Mark Dantonio spoke about the importance of weathering the storm of what has become a cloudy season.