On Friday afternoon, No. 20 MSU field hockey (6-4 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) invaded the east coast to take on Rutgers in the teams' first meeting as Big Ten members.
MSU football will return under the lights once again on Saturday, hosting Nebraska at home at 8 p.m.Football reporters Robert Bondy and Geoff Preston predict the outcome of what could be a College Football Playoff-deciding game for the Spartans.
The career shutout record at MSU for men’s soccer is 23 shutouts, a record that until recently was held by two former MSU goalies — John Spink (1984, 1986–88) and Avery Steinlage (2008-10). Junior goalkeeper Zach Bennett can now be included in that company, earning his 23rd career shutout in a 0-0 tie against Rutgers on Sept. 28.
In the 91-season history of Spartan Stadium there have been 15 night games, with the 16th coming Saturday night as No. 10 MSU (3-1 overall) takes on No. 19 Nebraska (5-0 overall) in both team’s Big Ten conference openers
There’s something about Spartan Stadium under the lights. At least that’s what players are saying. As No. 10 MSU (3-1 overall) prepares to face No. 19 Nebraska (5-0 overall) for an 8 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, players, coaches and fans are getting wrapped up in the excitement of opening Big Ten play with a top-20 matchup.
Senior midfielder Becky Stiles, third on the team in points, is heading home this weekend.A native of Medford, N.J., Stiles will have plenty of her own supporters this weekend as field hockey prepares to take on Rutgers and Monmouth on the road.
MSU’s tough stretch continued Thursday evening, as the team lost 1-0 to the visiting Iowa Hawkeyes.MSU (6-5-1 overall, 0-5-1 Big Ten) seemed to be lethargic throughout the game, and players were often moved with a lack of urgency.“I thought after the first half hour, we didn’t deserve to get a result today,” head coach Tom Saxton said.
By Troy Jeffersontjefferson@statenews.comIt will be déjá vu for the Spartans on Friday night.
With no games from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3, the men’s soccer team (5-1-2 overall, 1-0-1 Big Ten) will be well-rested on Oct. 4 against the Ohio State Buckeyes (3-3-3 overall, 1-1-0 Big Ten).
The MSU hockey program is in a process of changing its culture, and this offseason proved that they are well on the way, according to head coach Tom Anastos.
After competing in Evanston, Ill. and Tulsa, Okla. this weekend, the men and women’s tennis teams return to prepare for upcoming matches. For their season kickoff, the men’s team separated and competed at both the Western Michigan Vredevelt Invitational and the ITA All American Tournament in Oklahoma.
The No. 1 objective for the Spartan defense this weekend will be to contain the most talented guy wearing red and white — Nebraska senior running back Ameer Abdullah.“Ameer is a guy who can make guys miss, can prolong runs, understands where his blocks are, understands seeing the field (and) has great field vision,” senior safety Kurtis Drummond said.
After three road games over the past two weekends, women’s soccer will return to the friendly confines of DeMartin Stadium for a Thursday-Sunday set against two challenging teams.Iowa (8-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) will visit MSU (6-4-1 overall, 0-4-1 Big Ten) on Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
Even with the disappointment of two losses last weekend, there were still a few highlights that No. 20 MSU field hockey took away from it. And while the Spartans primary focus is their play, they took some time to enjoy themselves off the field this weekend.
With the hockey season right around the corner, MSU made a splash on Wednesday announcing a renovation project of Munn Ice Arena that will include new theatrical lighting, high-definition video boards, LED ribbon boards and more.
After splashing in the pool next to former Spartans, the women's swimming and diving team will head to South Bend, Ind. to compete against Notre Dame this weekend.
MSU (8-6 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) fell short in it’s attempt to win on the road against in-state rival Michigan (6-7 overall, 1-2 Big Ten), losing in four sets (20-25, 25-22, 24-26, 23-25).It was a sloppy effort for both teams, who combined for 55 errors. MSU had 29 of those errors, 11 of which were service errors.
The women’s soccer team has been a broken record for the past few weeks, and after a defeat to Michigan, the team is in a very deep hole.MSU (6-4-1 overall, 0-4-1 Big Ten) started out the season with six impressive wins, but since entering conference play three weekends ago, the Spartans have lost four of five games.
After two bye weeks following the Spartan Invitational, MSU cross country ran in Minneapolis, Minn. at the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday. The No. 3 women’s team finished with a total of 66 points, putting them in first place, while the men had a total of 153 points, placing them at fourth.
With a top-10 recruiting class comes big expectations and the craving for immediate production. MSU volleyball compiled the No. 6-rated recruiting class last spring according to PrepVolleyball.com.The talented class has paid dividends for head coach Cathy George, whose team has caught a case of the injury bug early on this season.