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Sports

Robert Bondy ·
FOOTBALL

Spartans hone skills for Eastern game

Bennie Fowler isn’t quite sure what happened in the first quarter of MSU’s 20-3 loss against No. 11 Notre Dame. On first down, junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell found Fowler in the end zone for what would have been a 28-yard touchdown pass that would have knotted the game at 7-7.

SPORTS

No. 15 MSU aspires to maintain hot start

With the start of their Big Ten season looming, the MSU field hockey team wants to prove to everyone that last year’s 7-13 last-place finish in the Big Ten was a fluke and that they’re ready to contend for a conference title.

SOCCER

Transfer player Luke Norman finds place at MSU

To an outsider, it might seem Norman was living the college soccer dream. But for the senior midfielder, something just wasn’t right, and when the opportunity to return to his home state and play as a Spartan arose, he had to jump at it.

FOOTBALL

Dissecting Saturday night’s game

After the passing game struggled to get off the ground in a 20-3 loss to No. 11 Notre Dame (3-0) on Saturday, the No. 21 MSU football team will spend this week looking for explanations and solutions to the offense’s weak showing.

VOLLEYBALL

Mathews named conference Defensive Player of Week

The MSU volleyball team, off to its best start since 2009 and the third-best start in team history at 12-0, got some more good news after sweeping the Holiday Inn Charleston/Mt. Pleasant Tournament when junior middle blocker Alexis Mathews was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

BASKETBALL

Forward Kaminski out 4-6 weeks

MSU freshman forward Kenny Kaminski will be out four to six months after undergoing successful surgery on his right shoulder on Sept. 7 to repair a torn labrum, according to a release by the MSU athletics department.

SPORTS

Field hockey adjusting without Stiles in lineup

As has been previously documented, the MSU field hockey team is currently without its starting center midfielder, sophomore Becky Stiles. Stiles is in Guadalajara, Mexico, with the U.S. under-21 team, competing in the under-21 Pan-American Games.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Players suspended for 9 games in 2012-13

MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced Friday that sophomore guard Kiana Johnson and redshirt freshman forward Akyah Taylor have been suspended for the first nine games of the upcoming season, after NCAA guidelines “related to the receipt of extra benefits” were violated, according to a release by the MSU athletics department. “Both Kiana and Akyah are good student-athletes that made a bad decision this summer,” Merchant said in a statement.

FOOTBALL

Humbling Defeat

Head coach Mark Dantonio said it was a “tough day at the office.” Junior linebacker Max Bullough called it an “eye-opener.” Offensive coordinator Dan Roushar said it was “frustrating.”

FOOTBALL

Team delivers unacceptable performance

It was the interceptions Max Bullough and Chris Norman just couldn’t quite grab. It was the touchdown that bounced off Bennie Fowler’s hands. It was the near-blocked punt that became a roughing the kicker penalty. On a night when Notre Dame appeared to make every big play, the Spartans couldn’t manage to just get out of their own way. By the end of the night, No.

FOOTBALL

Volunteers clean up party litter

The morning after most home football games, East Lansing is comparable to a party war zone -— streets filled with broken glass, lawns littered with red solo cups and trash scattered throughout the city.

SOCCER

Spartans downed by Marquette

In a chippy game against undefeated Big East opponent Marquette (7-0-0), the MSU men’s soccer team fell 2-1 in a double-overtime loss, bringing its record to 2-5-1.

SPORTS

MSU places 2nd in golf tournament

The MSU women’s golf team started the 2012 campaign off on the right foot with a strong showing of second place in the Mary Fossum Invitational this past weekend. MSU hosted the event (named after longtime great MSU women’s golf coach Mary Fossum) for the 29th time.

SPORTS

Field hockey defeats Louisville 2-1 in overtime

The MSU field hockey team came into this weekend’s Auto-Owners Insurance MSU Invitational looking to bounce back from a pair of losses to Virginia and Northeastern the previous weekend. And with Friday’s win over American and Sunday’s overtime victory against Louisville, the Spartans did exactly that.