For Tom Anastos, it was nice to see the puck go in the net. In the hockey team’s first game of the 2013-14 campaign, a 4-1 exhibition win against Western Ontario, the Spartans put up 47 shots, when a season ago they averaged slightly more than 25 a game.
Most college football players can remember the moment they found the school that’s right for them.
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.
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.
The football team will take on Indiana in the annual Homecoming game, but multiple other teams are in action as well.
When the MSU football team made a change at offensive coordinator in the offseason, it was unclear the direction the program’s offense was headed.
The MSU volleyball team is off to a perfect 4-0 start in Big Ten play, the program’s best start since 1996. On Saturday, the volleyball team will face the other undefeated Big Ten volleyball team, No. 9 Nebraska.
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.
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.
For what seemed like the first time all season, head coach Mark Dantonio’s press conference was not dominated by questions about MSU’s offense.
Six victorious sets, two interceptions and one game-winning goal later, three athletes have won Big Ten honors from the weekend. All three Spartans contributed in giving their teams a combined four victories on the weekend, putting them on top of the conference.
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.?
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.
Senior cornerback Darqueze Dennard has been named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
Welp, I’m 0-1 as a coach. At the MSU hockey Green and White game, head coach Tom Anastos asked yours truly and other members of the Lansing media to put down their notebooks and pick up a whistle.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Let’s pump the brakes a little, Mark. Knocking off a team that was weaker than advertised and a program that hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 2004 is a landmark win?
1996 saw one of the greatest years in MSU volleyball history. With a 26-7 overall record and dominant 12-0 Big Ten start for a team that finished 18-2, then-head coach Chuck Erbe took his team to an Elite Eight finish.
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).
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.
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).