CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – Connor Cook’s performance in Saturday’s 42-3 win at Illinois was something straight out of a movie. Not in the traditional hero-versus-villain sense, although it wouldn’t surprise me if he was hiding a cape beneath that white MSU jersey with the record-setting day he had throwing the ball.
The field hockey team (8-9 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) dropped its second straight game Saturday night, losing to No. 13 Northwestern, 2-1. Despite the loss, it was a day of celebration for the seniors. It was Senior Day, and goalkeeper Molly Cassidy, midfielder Kristen Henn, midfielder Katherine Jamieson, midfielder Adelle Lever and midfielder Mallory McDonagh played their last game at Ralph Young Field.
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — Connor Cook was at a crossroad. Coming off an underwhelming passing performance in a 14-0 victory against hapless Purdue, the sophomore quarterback spent the week answering questions of whether he had regressed, or perhaps if the offense ever actually progressed in the first place. A tedious and tiring project, Cook stood in defense of a team once briefly met with praise on the offensive side of the ball, knowing one play could turn the tide.
After last week’s performance against Purdue, sophomore quarterback Connor Cook left many with more questions than answers. This week, it’s safe to say he’s hellbent on answering a few of them.
Despite difficult playing conditions and winds up to 20 miles per hour, the MSU women’s soccer team beat Northwestern, 2-1, in Evanston, Ill., on Friday night. MSU (9-6-2 overall, 3-6-0 Big Ten) quickly fell behind the Wildcats (3-12-2, 1-8-0) when, in the 15th minute, Northwestern midfielder Margo McGinty shot from 18 yards out and got it past Gauruder in the top left corner of the net. Head coach Tom Saxton said the Wildcats got the best of them physically in the early going and got better position than the Spartans.
A week after suffering a tough road loss to Penn State, the field hockey team (8-8 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) will play No. 11 Northwestern (12-4, 3-1) at home on Saturday.
The No. 10 volleyball team (17-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) will look to snap a three-match losing streak Saturday when they face Indiana (8-12, 0-9) at Jenison Field House.
Bill Cubit was winless against MSU in three tries during his eight-year tenure as the head coach of Western Michigan. Since being fired at the end of last year in Kalamazoo, Cubit was hired by second-year Illinois head coach Tim Beckman to man the controls of his offense.
After a disappointing opening weekend that saw the MSU hockey team lose a pair of games against UMass, they hope to bounce back as they hit the ice at home for the first time this season. The Spartans (0-2 overall) take on No. 18 UMass-Lowell on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. and No. 13 Boston University on Oct. 26 at 7:05 p.m. at Munn Ice Arena.
Last season was plagued with injuries and suspensions for MSU women’s basketball. Despite opening the season with one of its best starts in school history — winning 13 of its first 14 games, and later getting to the Big Ten championship game and making the NCAA Tournament — MSU played much of last season without key contributing members. The Spartans’ playing lineup consisted mainly of six players, and this season they can expect a couple key additions.
When it comes to measuring the MSU football team, there’s a growing distinction between perception and reality. Early season offensive demons reemerged last week as the Spartans (6-1 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) slinked away with a 14-0 victory against Big Ten bottom-dweller Purdue. Sophomore Connor Cook appeared more like a drunkard throwing darts than a Division I quarterback, seemingly regressing from a stellar stretch he had against Iowa and Indiana.
With a third-consecutive loss, head coach Cathy George said it’s time for the volleyball team to get back to basics — and back to work. “People are trying to do a little bit too much more than they have to,” George said. “You don’t have to press to get things done. You have to execute to get things done. There has to be patience in your game.”
After nearly a decade at MSU, Cathy George is in special territory. By building the MSU volleyball program into a serious Big Ten contender and starting the season off with the best record of any Spartan team since 1996, the volleyball head coach has the opportunity to place the program among the national elite – a path not unlike the one taken years ago by men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo.
For the fourth time in the last five games, the men’s soccer team had to go to double overtime to see the end of a contest. The No. 17 Spartans (8-2-3 overall, 1-1-1 Big Ten) played to a 0-0 draw against No. 18 Akron (10-3-1) in Akron, Ohio Wednesday night.
In her third year of college, Kirsten Evans is in her first as a Spartan. Out of high school, the redshirt sophomore midfielder committed to the Vanderbilt women’s soccer team. Because of an injury after just six games into her freshman year, she was sidelined the remainder of the season. After being redshirted in 2012, the Farmington Hills, Mich., native left Nashville and transferred to MSU at the winter break, joining the Spartan women’s soccer team this spring.
Death, taxes and answering questions about Lawrence “LT” Thomas. At this point, those are the certainties in the life of head coach Mark Dantonio. After answering at least one question about the sophomore defensive end almost weekly since the season began, it’s become a practice as steady and consistent as clockwork for Dantonio. Since Thomas suffered an undisclosed injury during summer workouts, there’s been an insatiable thirst to know the status of the former five-star prospect from Detroit.
There’s no need to remind them – they already know. The minute the game clock read zeros at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis last March, ending MSU’s season in the Sweet 16, another clock started ticking.
It doesn’t get any easier from here. The No. 17 Spartans (8-2-2 overall, 1-1-1 Big Ten) head to Akron, Ohio to take on No. 18 Akron (10-3-0) tonight at 7 p.m.
It was a regular August day when men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo popped into a weight lifting session to check on his team, and walked away with a lasting message from a former great. The player was Draymond Green, who spent much of his summer in East Lansing working out with the squad, and the message sheds light on just how high the expectations are for the No. 2-ranked Spartans in the 2013-14 season. “Day-Day came over and said to me, ‘Coach, I’d die to play with this team,’” Izzo said. “From Draymond Green, that was a statement of all statements.”
MSU women’s field hockey walked away from Tuesday’s game against Central Michigan with a 1-0 victory. Coming off of a 4-3 loss to No. 5 Penn State, the win boosted team morale and put the Spartans at .500 on the season.