Now is the time to shine. With just six games left in the season for the men’s soccer team, it’s up to this squad to show whether they’re capable of making any run in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
Every game is becoming more and more crucial for the women’s soccer team. After starting the season out 6-0-2, the Spartans (7-5-2 overall, 1-5-0 Big Ten) have been in a tailspin since conference play.
Thirteen seconds. That’s how long it took sophomore midfielder Jay Chapman to give the MSU men’s soccer team (8-1-2) a 1-0 on in-state rival Oakland (5-3-5) on a rainy Wednesday evening.
Rookies, newcomers, young ones — if this was basketball, ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale might even call them “diaper dandies, baby!” But to most, they’re just freshmen. They haven’t been on campus for more than a couple months, but a group of freshmen already have been contributing to the MSU women’s soccer team (7-5-2 overall, 1-5-0 Big Ten).
The men’s soccer team may have a difficult week ahead of them, but they’re looking forward to the challenge. The No. 18 Spartans (7-1-2 Overall, 1-0-1 Big Ten) will face a tricky midweek tilt against in-state rival Oakland (5-2-5, 3-0-1 Horizon) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at DeMartin Stadium.
A season that once held so much promise for the MSU women’s soccer team now is in need of saving. With just five games remaining on the Big Ten slate, the Spartans (7-5-2 overall, 1-5-0 Big Ten) sit tied for last place in the Big Ten with Northwestern (3-9-2, 1-5-0) and are five points behind the final spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
Sometimes, a tie can feel like a loss. That was certainly the case for the MSU men’s soccer team (7-1-2 overall, 1-0-1 Big Ten) after a 1-1 draw against Ohio State (2-6-4 overall, 0-2-1 Big Ten) Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium.
A Big Ten Tournament berth still isn’t out of the question, but after Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Ohio State, the MSU women’s soccer team has serious work to do in the final five games of the season.
The clock is ticking for the women’s soccer team. The Spartans (7-4-2 overall, 1-4-0 Big Ten) have only six games remaining in the regular season before the Big Ten Tournament. They currently sit a game out of eighth place in the Big Ten — the number of teams allowed into the tournament.
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.
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.
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.
Two early Michigan goals proved to be too much for the MSU women’s soccer team to overcome against the No. 21 team in the nation. The Spartans (7-3-2 overall, 1-3-0 Big Ten) lost, 2-1, to the Wolverines (8-2-1, 2-1-1) in their second-consecutive loss to a Big Ten opponent.
The rivalry is renewed. The women’s soccer team (7-2-2 overall, 1-2-0 Big Ten) will return to DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field on Thursday against its archrival, No. 21 Michigan (7-2-1, 1-1-1).
When the MSU men’s soccer team traveled to Chicago for a matchup with Illinois-Chicago, they took a detour that was right up their alley. The Spartans stopped by the headquarters of the U.S. Soccer federation located in downtown Chicago to tour Soccer House and kill some time before beating the Flames.
Warrior. Enforcer. Competitor. Those are words that can be used to describe sophomore defender Mary Kathryn Fiebernitz. In only her second year of game action after redshirting her freshman year, Fiebernitz is bringing her competitive nature to the MSU women’s soccer team.
She grew up a Spartan, and now is the starting midfielder for the MSU women’s soccer team. Sophomore midfielder Sarah Kovan spent her childhood around MSU athletics. Her father, Jeff Kovan, has been a part of the sports medicine program since 1995, and has been mainly working with men’s basketball since 1996, along with other sports.
September 27, 2011 is a date junior Kyle Rutz will never forget.