Last year, the MSU women’s soccer team was 7-1-1 headed into Big Ten play. The Spartans, however, stumbled during Big Ten play, going 2-8-1 — tied for last place in the conference.
With a tournament-winning performance, Big Ten honors and a major milestone approaching, it’s safe to say that senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski is enjoying her week. Fresh off of an MVP performance at the Butler Invitational, Wicinski has been named Big Ten Player of the Week for the second time in her career.
Where’s the love? On the heels of an impressive 2-0 win against a tough Marquette team Sunday evening in Wisconsin, it’s time for the MSU men’s soccer team to once again break into the rankings.
It took MSU three hours and 18 minutes to pummel lowly Youngstown State 55-17 on Saturday, but as the final whistle blew, it signaled the conclusion of a quarterback controversy more than nine months in the making.
Early last week, Connor Cook was handed the keys to the MSU football team.
Senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski fell short of hitting the 2,000 kill mark over the weekend, but it didn’t matter as the Spartans (8-1 overall) won the Butler Invitational behind her MVP performance. Wicinski’s 45 kills led the Spartans to 3-0 sweeps over IPFW on Friday and Illinois State and Butler on Sunday.
For the first time since 2009, the women’s soccer team will enter its Big Ten schedule without a loss. The Spartans (6-0-2 overall) finished their non-conference slate Sunday afternoon at Eastern Michigan and escaped with a nail-biting victory, thanks to two clutch penalty kicks from sophomore defender Mary Kathryn Fiebernitz in the second half.
Junior forward Tim Kreutz’s first half goal was the difference as the men’s soccer team held on after a late barrage of shots to earn a 2-0 win against Marquette in Milwaukee, Wisc. Sunday afternoon.
A span of more than two games. One hundred twenty-nine minutes. Seven thousand seven hundred seventeen seconds.
It was a day of firsts for the MSU football program on Saturday in a 55-17 blowout win against Youngstown State.
It took 10 quarters, but MSU’s offense finally looked something like what fans were hoping for prior to this season as the Spartans built a 35-10 halftime lead against Youngstown State.
When a team out shoots their 28-1, most of the time those teams end up victorious. That’s exactly what the MSU women’s soccer team did in its 3-1 win against Bowling Green on Friday. The Spartans came out of the gate strong and controlled the pace for much of the first half, and head coach Tom Saxton was glad to see the improvement since last week’s tie against Oakland. “We were most pleased we came out with some tempo and some intensity after last week’s game against Oakland,” head coach Tom Saxton said.
Kurtis Drummond is primed for something of a homecoming this weekend.
Ryan Miller was born a Spartan, and now he’s being enshrined as one as well. Miller, along with four other former Spartan athletes, will join the ranks of MSU’s Athletics Hall of Fame as the 2013 class.
As a freshman, MSU volleyball great Jenna Wrobel was immediately plugged into a starting lineup burgeoning with potential. The head coach at the time, Chuck Erbe, was in the midst of compiling a team stocked with significant talent. Current head coach Cathy George described Wrobel as the missing link to that team.
Two down. Two to go? ?Former basketball star Morris Peterson became the second member of the lauded “Flintstones” clique to become inducted to the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday, joining childhood friend and teammate Mateen Cleaves (inducted in 2011).
Kip Miller can remember just about every time he’s put on a jersey at Munn Ice Arena. The third generation MSU hockey player, who played from 1986-1990, will join four other former Spartan greats, including his cousin Ryan Miller, as the 2013 inductees for the Spartan Hall of Fame.
As the forefather of MSU’s most well-known football lineage, Henry Bullough rarely mentioned the gridiron as he answered questions Thursday before being formally inducted to MSU’s Athletics Hall of Fame. Today’s generation of Spartans associate the Bullough name more closely with Max, senior and a three-year starter at middle linebacker, or Riley, a redshirt freshman running back.
Entering the final weekend before Big Ten play, the women’s soccer team will look to maintain their unbeaten record against a pair of Mid-American Conference teams. The Spartans (4-0-2 overall) will take on Bowling Green (0-3-0) Friday night at home, but after tying Oakland, 1-1, on Sept. 5, head coach Tom Saxton said it doesn’t matter Bowling Green has yet to win a game.
A week after a 2-0 weekend homestand, the volleyball team (5-1 overall) will hit the road to Indianapolis as they take on IPWF, Illinois State and Butler at the Butler Invitational. Illinois State in particular will be an interesting matchup. Besides MSU having a 5-8 series record against the Red Birds, head coach Cathy George is a 1985 Illinois State graduate.