Junior Jehuu Caulcrick and sophomore Javon Ringer — MSU's first- and second-string running backs — are battling injuries. Caulcrick missed Saturday's game with a sprained foot, but head coach John L.
During a four-minute span of Saturday's game, MSU played complacently and its defense gave up big plays, allowing Eastern Michigan to score 17 points. But for the other 56 minutes, the offense dominated and the defense stifled the Eagles en route to a 52-20 win at Spartan Stadium. "It was a little bit of a roller-coaster ride," head coach John L.
Late in last Thursday's game, MSU women's soccer forward Lauren Hill watched intently as a teammate dribbled down the left sideline.
Lost in the excitement of Matt Trannon's record-setting day on Saturday was an outstanding performance by Drew Stanton. The senior quarterback looked like he was heading for a rough game at the start.
After the Detroit Lions yawned their way to a 9-6 season-opening loss against Seattle on Sunday, State News sports reporters Matt Bishop and Eric Fish tried to make sense of what they saw.
It only took four years, but it appears the MSU football staff has finally found a way to get the most out of Matt Trannon.
Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn bounced back from a poor showing in his first game to throw for 287 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout of Penn State on Saturday. In a surprise to much of the national media, though, Quinn did not cure cancer or save the rain forest. Game 5 of the WNBA Finals was scheduled to be played at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but because a Mariah Carey concert was already booked there, it had to be moved to Joe Louis Arena.
With the crowd screaming "Go Green! Go White!" and the MSU softball team yelling from behind the opposing net in a surprise appearance, the MSU women's soccer team notched a 2-0 shutout victory against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Thursday at Old College Field. The Spartans quickly forced the ball upfield off the game's opening kick and kept it there until freshman forward Lauren Hill scored the first goal of the game less than 10 minutes in, knocking the ball into the net off a cross from junior midfielder Maureen Pawlak. "I saw it floating over the top of my head," Hill said.
Despite starting the season with a 3-1 record, "frustrating" is a word that comes up frequently when talking about the MSU men's soccer team's offense. The Spartans have scored just four goals in the season's first four games and haven't been able to put teams away when they've had the chance. That was the case in Sunday's heartbreaking 1-0 double overtime loss to Northern Illinois.
When junior midfielder Kevin Reiman transferred to MSU from Maryland after last season, he expected to fit right in with the Spartans' starting unit. After all, he has a national championship under his belt, having played 10 games with Maryland, last year's NCAA men's soccer champions. But after tearing muscles in his abdomen this preseason, Reiman hasn't seen the field yet. "I got cleared to play yesterday, so I'm kinda getting back into things," Reiman said Wednesday.
Any time a team graduates 72 percent of its total offensive production, there's bound to be times throughout the season when scoring is scarce. With the loss of starting forwards Emma Harris and Dana Voorheis — who combined for 17 goals and 11 assists in 2005 — the offensive shoes of the MSU women's soccer team have become empty and waiting to be filled. Last weekend, the Spartans got a taste of how difficult goal-scoring could be this season when they suffered back-to-back shutout losses on the road against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. "Each season it's been like this at the beginning," junior midfielder Maureen Pawlak said.
Kristin Haynie is used to proving people wrong. When she led MSU to the national championship game in 2005, many doubted the Spartans' staying power.
Alissa McKaig, a sophomore on the MSU women's cross country team, was named Big Ten Runner of the Week on Tuesday. In her first race as a Spartan, McKaig finished first in the 5,000-meter event at Friday's Jeff Drenth Memorial with a time of 17 minutes, 10 seconds.
The MSU women's soccer team was held scoreless this weekend in a pair of losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge. Oklahoma State, ranked No.
With a 2-0 record after the season's first weekend, the MSU men's soccer team faced its first true test of the season Friday against No.
Most fans will look at MSU's 27-17 win over Idaho on Saturday and label it as unimpressive or disappointing.
In the realm of college football, preseason rankings achieve a rare level of uselessness rivaled only by sideline reporters, contraception* and Pac-10 defenses.
It was quite a bumpy weekend for the MSU field hockey team. Coming off a 6-1 loss to American on Saturday in Philadelphia, the Spartans were able to rebound Sunday against Temple with a 2-1 double overtime win, the first of head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof's career. With Temple up 1-0, MSU tied the score in the final minute on a goal by freshman midfielder Anne-Sophie van Rijswijk. Then, in the second overtime, freshman midfielder Floor Rijpma notched the game winner to give MSU its first win of the season. "I told the girls they needed to get a bonfire going with their play that could be seen in downtown Philly," van de Kerkhof said in a statement.
Despite starting the season with two losses, first-year MSU field hockey coach Rolf van de Kerkhof hasn't lost sight of the big picture. His team got contributions from players both young and old in close losses to Delaware and Louisville at last weekend's Champion's Invitational.
During games, Nicole Galas patrols the Spartans goalbox, shouting words of encouragement and guidance to her teammates.