To be a defender or a goalkeeper — that was the question for a young Jimmy Hague. Hague had played soccer his whole life, but the choice to velcro up the gloves and slip on the long-sleeved jersey was a defining one in his athletic career and one that certainly both he and MSU head soccer coach Damon Rensing are happy that he made.
Wednesday afternoon, Michigan State (8-2 record) returned to DeMartin Stadium to outlast in-state rivalry Western Michigan (8-3-1 record), by a final score of 2-1.
The stormy weather symbolized the game. There was nothing elegant about the way MSU avoided its first back-to-back losses results of the season, but the Spartans trudged through the storm to beat Bowling Green, 1-0.
Junior midfielder Brad Centala had never hoisted the Big Bear Trophy. Neither had junior goalkeeper Jimmy Hague. On Sunday afternoon, they were determined to fix that.
In the Battle for the Big Bear Trophy, MSU edged Michigan 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium. The game was evenly challenged throughout, with the two teams nearly identical in their attacking position and efforts at goal, but MSU exuded the necessary composure both offensively and defensively in the definitive moments.
Junior attacking midfielder Ken Krolicki was named Big Ten Player of the Week, according to MSU Athletic Communications.
With so much building up to the start of the conference season, head coach Damon Rensing said Michigan State delivered their "most complete game" of the season as MSU (3-1) defeated Rutgers (0-4) 4-0 Friday afternoon.
In the season's Big Ten season opener, MSU (3-1) defeated Rutgers (0-4) 4-0 on Friday afternoon. The Spartans had to wait for the breakthrough, as it took an entire first half of possession and eight shots before sophomore forward Ryan Sierakowski finally netted a free kick 21 seconds before the halftime. Then, the goals poured, with many second-half chances and conversions.
The Michigan State men's soccer team has been a brewing melting pot of prowess, shortcomings, and resilience three games into the regular season. And as the Spartans have hinted at both a superb season ahead and one that could be quite long, their real muster will tested on Friday afternoon, with the Big Ten regular season beginning with a home game against Rutgers.
State News: How long have you been playing soccer? Zach Carroll: I started playing when I was about four years old, I started in the AYSO program.
As the No. 3-seeded men’s soccer team (12-4-6 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) prepares for its second Elite Eight game in as many years, the team has to be confident that what they’ve done all season will lead them to a win over the No. 11-seed Providence Friars (15-4-2 overall, 5-2-2 Big East) Saturday at noon in DeMartin Soccer Stadium.
Destiny is defined as “the hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future,” according to Oxford Dictionaries. Heading into the Elite Eight, the men’s soccer team appears to be a team of destiny — and that destiny is winning a national championship.
The men’s soccer team (12-4-6 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) is headed to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year after tying with the Washington Huskies (12-5-3 overall, 5-4-1 PAC-12) 2-2, advancing with a 4-3 advantage in penalty kicks.
After defeating the Oakland 1-0 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday the men's soccer team finds themselves in the Sweet 16 (third round) for the third time since 2010.
The men’s soccer team (12-4-5 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by defeating the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (10-7-3 overall, 5-0-3 Horizon) 1-0min the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday afternoon. This was the second time this season the Spartans played the Golden Grizzlies this season, this time avenging their 2-0 loss on Oct. 22 during the regular season.
The men’s soccer team (11-4-5 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) has earned the No. 3-seed overall in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Spartans will play the winner of this Thursday’s Kentucky (10-5-4 overall, 5-1-2 Conference USA)mtg vs. Oakland (9-6-3 overall, 5-0-3 Horizon) matchup on Sunday.
As the men's soccer team (11-4-5 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) gets over the its tough Big Ten Tournament semifinals loss to the Maryland Terrapins on Friday, the team must think about what's to come. Neither team was able to score through 110 minutes of play on Friday sending the game to penalty kicks where MSU would lose 3-2 in a five round setup. The team must look forward to Monday's NCAA Tournament selection show.
In the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament, the men's soccer team (11-4-5 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) lost to the Maryland Terrapins (12-5-3 overall, 5-2-1 Big Ten) 0-0 (3-2) on penalty kicks Friday afternoon at Ludwig Field in Maryland.
The No. 19-ranked men’s soccer team (11-4-4 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) kicked off the Big Ten Tournament with a 1-0 victory over Penn State on Sunday afternoon.
The No. 19-ranked mens soccer team (10-4-4 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) defeated the No. 2-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (11-3-4 overall, 3-3-2 Big Ten) 3-2 Wednesday night in what was the team's final regular season game this year.