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Sports | Basketball Men's 1037

FOOTBALL

Real test for MSU begins next weekend

Not a bad start, Spartans. Only you, Wisconsin, Purdue and Ohio State are undefeated in the Big Ten. You’re on top. But you’ve done this before. You started out 4-0 in 2005, 3-0 in 2006 — this isn’t news to you. You know the season isn’t won in four games. You know the season doesn’t really start until Big Ten play.

SPORTS

Spartans play to 2-2 tie against Penn State

It was a physical day at Old College Field for the MSU men’s soccer team. The Spartans and Penn State combined for 37 fouls, 27 from the visitors, as the two teams ended the game in a 2-2 tie. “It was everything you could expect,” MSU head coach Joe Baum said. “Attacking, defending, teams flying up and down the pitch at pace. I thought it was a great soccer game.”

FOOTBALL

By the book

Junior quarterback Brian Hoyer fumbled the ball twice Saturday against Notre Dame — but one of those fumbles wasn’t by accident. The Spartans decided to try for the first down on fourth-and-one from the Fighting Irish 30-yard line with around three minutes left in the third quarter.

SPORTS

Spartans sweep weekend pair

The offense and defense have aligned for the MSU field hockey team. Coming back from a 4-3 overtime loss against No. 3 UConn Sept. 14, the No. 6 Spartans (9-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) came back with a vengeance in Saturday’s Big Ten opener against Northwestern (3-5, 0-1) — shutting the Wildcats out 4-0.

FOOTBALL

Heisman watch

Going into the fourth week of the college football season, these six candidates are the frontrunners.

FOOTBALL

Word on the street

How did you feel after last year’s football team lost to Notre Dame? The State News asked five students who attended the game.

FOOTBALL

Victory & defeat

Four weeks into the 2006 season, the MSU football team imploded. With a 16-point lead at the end of the third quarter, the Spartans thought they had it in the bag, but the rain storm grew stronger, and so did the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame scored 19 unanswered points, beating MSU 40-37. The MSU players and coaches walked off the field soaked in rain and sweat.

FOOTBALL

MSU welcomes first road game

MSU head coach Mark Dantonio has made it known one of the keys this season for his football team is to win the fans back. After the team’s 3-0 start, the Spartans are closer to achieving that goal, and the unified, white-clad student section has loudly voiced its support at Spartan Stadium.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Hill, Pawlak lead MSU in win

Despite it being a week since it dismantled Detroit Mercy, the MSU women’s soccer team showed no rust Wednesday afternoon. Once again using their depth and offensive firepower to their advantage, the Spartans (4-2-0) knocked off Eastern Michigan, 2-0, at Old College Field.

VOLLEYBALL

Sister, Sister: Duo lights up court

They both top out at 6 foot 1, love volleyball and share mirror images in every aspect besides hair color. But that is where the similarities end for sisters Ashley and Megan Schatzle. The sisters, who are both members of the MSU volleyball team, are admittedly as different as can be.

SPORTS

New faces join athletics

When she introduced Mark Hollis as MSU’s next athletics director on Sept. 12, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon joked about it being the last time she wanted to stand up at an MSU sports press conference any time soon. Nobody laughed harder than men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo.

FOOTBALL

Saint-Dic scores conference honors

Senior defensive end Jonal Saint-Dic may have earned his nickname “Sackmaster” as a joke early in his MSU football career, but his play this season has been nothing to laugh at. The Big Ten Conference noticed this week when they named Saint-Dic co-defensive player of the week.

FOOTBALL

Spartans find ways to battle adversity, win

MSU head coach Mark Dantonio has yet to hold a press conference without using a favorite quote from former MSU head coach George Perles: “They all count one.” Well, Saturday’s 17-13 victory over Pittsburgh should at least count one-and-a-half.