Tuesday, January 13, 2026

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Sports | 1000

MEN'S SOCCER

Magic number: Players tell why it's theirs

The likes of Lionel Messi, Pele, Wayne Rooney and Diego Maradona are all linked by something other than their goal scoring prowess on the field — the jersey No. 10. Even for members of the MSU men’s soccer team, the significance of their jersey number is an important aspect of the game.

SPORTS

Barker shaking off injury, getting back to old playing ways

Abby Barker was nearly unstoppable last season. The then-sophomore forward started all 20 matches for the field hockey team. Her 18 season goals accounted for more than half of MSU’s total for the season — 33. She was a first-team All-Big Ten selection and ranked in the top half of the Big Ten in several offensive categories.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Clem, Gauruder duke out starting goalie spot

Heading into the season, Courtney Clem was the No. 1 goalkeeper for the MSU women’s soccer team. With just six games remaining on the schedule and an important Big Ten match against Ohio State on Saturday, the junior goalkeeper will be competing in practice this week to keep the top spot with sophomore goalkeeper Gabrielle Gauruder.

MEN'S SOCCER

OSU next in line for on-fire men's soccer team

The men’s soccer team had a good week last week, to say the least. MSU (7-1-1 overall, 1-0-0 Big Ten) went on the road and beat University of Illinois-Chicago 2-0 to earn their sixth shutout of the season last Tuesday. Shortly after, the Spartans upset No. 5 Northwestern 3-2 in double overtime on the Wildcats’ home turf Sunday afternoon.

BASEBALL

Face time: Jake Boss Jr.

A year after making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1979, the MSU baseball team narrowly missed the 64-team field this past spring. The Spartans finished with a 33-17 overall record and a 12-9 Big Ten record, but couldn’t quite crack the field as they were the first team left out of the tournament.?

VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball's Reinig living up to high expectations

Though she was listed as a starter early in the season, a bout with mononucleosis delayed freshman Chloe Reinig’s season debut. But judging by her performance since returning to the lineup three weeks ago, it’s easy to see why PrepVolleyball.com rated her the No. 4 recruit of the 2013 class.

MEN'S SOCCER

Men's soccer beats No. 5 Northwestern

The last time the MSU men’s soccer team took the field in Evanston, Ill., they won the Big Ten Tournament in an overtime match against Michigan. In their first return trip to Lakeside Field since then, the Spartans (7-1-1 overall, 1-0-0 Big Ten) opened up Big Ten play with a 3-2, double overtime win against No. 5 Northwestern (7-3-0 overall, 1-1-0 Big Ten).

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Women's soccer falls to Iowa in overtime

The MSU women’s soccer team held on for 106 minutes as Iowa got off shot after shot, but couldn’t hang on for four more minutes to make it a draw. The Spartans (7-4-2 overall, 1-4-0 Big Ten) and Hawkeyes (10-3-0, 2-3-0) fought through two overtimes Sunday afternoon on Iowa’s home field, but it was the Hawkeyes who came out with the 1-0 win thanks to a late goal by Iowa midfielder Anne Marie Thomas.

VOLLEYBALL

MSU volleyball completes weekend sweep over Northwestern, Illinois

For the second straight weekend, the MSU volleyball team went 2-0 in Big Ten play. After opening Big Ten season with wins over then-No. 1 Penn State and then-No. 13 Ohio State last weekend, the No. 9 Spartans (15-1 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) continued their success this weekend. MSU followed their 3-0 sweep over Illinois on Friday night with another 3-0 sweep over Northwestern Saturday (25-20, 25-12, 25-20).

FOOTBALL

From Sadler to Cook, MSU impressed

Facing a punting situation to open the fourth quarter with the MSU football team clinging to a six-point lead, junior punter Mike Sadler entered the game to send the ball back to the opposing team as he had 24 previous times this season. It’s something he’s able to do as consistent as nearly anyone in the country since taking over the position in 2011.

FOOTBALL

Now they're Cook-ing

Mike Sadler was MSU’s most valuable player through its first three games as the Spartans were frustratingly ineffective on offense, leaning on Sadler time and time again to get them out of a jam. Even as MSU had its best offensive showing of the season in a 26-14 win at Iowa to begin Big Ten play, the junior punter again played the hero role.