If you aren’t on the MSU soccer bandwagon, it’s time to step aboard. After both the men and women opened up their conference slate Sunday at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field, one thing is clear — the soccer programs at MSU are worth taking note of.
The No. 13 MSU women’s soccer team picked up a big win when they beat No. 22 Penn State 3-2 in overtime Sunday at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field, but the Spartans also might have been dealt a huge loss.
For the fifth straight time, No. 26 Ohio State got the better of the No. 22 MSU men’s soccer team. In Sunday’s conference opener at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field, the Buckeyes scored the game’s lone goal in the 17th minute and were able to hold off a constant offensive bombardment by the Spartans in the second half to sneak out with a 1-0 win.
In one of the biggest games Laura Heyboer has played with the No. 13 MSU women’s soccer team, the sophomore forward was on the finishing side of one of the best plays she said she’s been a part of.
For the No. 13 MSU women’s soccer team, there’s no easing into the Big Ten season.
The MSU men’s soccer team had three rallying calls entering this season.
Despite last season’s successes, none of the players on the No. 22 MSU men’s soccer team ever have beaten Ohio State.
Eight games into the season, the No. 13 MSU women’s soccer team is quite simply a statistical marvel.
Joining a team with all but one starter returning usually means sparse playing time for a freshman.
Sunday afternoon only might be the opening of the Big Ten season for the No. 13 MSU women’s soccer team, but the atmosphere at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field will be that of a championship game.
The second Lauren Hill saw the red card Sunday, she knew she was going to miss much more than just the remaining minutes of the No. 13 MSU women’s soccer team’s game against Eastern Michigan.
Avery Steinlage proved he is human Sunday afternoon. After going 1,318 minutes, 26 seconds without allowing a goal — crushing the previous NCAA record of 974 minutes, 20 seconds — the MSU junior goalkeeper finally was beaten by San Diego senior forward Andrew Feld.
For much of the past decade, the MSU women’s soccer team has been mired in the middle-to-bottom of the Big Ten Conference.
Tim Granaderos rolled the dice when he decided to come to MSU. After losing interest in soccer during his early high school years and almost quitting the game altogether, Granaderos didn’t receive any scholarship offers from Division I colleges.
DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field has been in existence for less than two years, but the No. 11 MSU women’s soccer team already has made history there.
The No. 17 MSU men’s soccer team is on a roll. After easily winning both games in this weekend’s Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor, the Spartans are prepping for a road trip to California for their last two nonconference games before kicking off the Big Ten schedule against Ohio State on Sept. 27 at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.
As Tom Saxton watched film of the No. 11 MSU women’s soccer team this past week, the team’s head coach was extremely disappointed with the way the Spartans lackadaisically attacked the low-pressure defense thrown at them last week by Illinois State.
The MSU men’s soccer team might not have established a go-to striker up top, but they are receiving offensive contribution from more than just one player. In Sunday’s 4-0 victory against Wright State, four different Spartans recorded goals, upping the total to nine goals scored by six different players in the team’s first four games.
Junior goalkeeper Avery Steinlage could have lain down and taken a nap, jumped online to talk to friends or caught up on homework in the first half of the Spartans’ 4-0 victory against Wright State on Sunday.
Another game for the MSU women’s soccer team, two more goals for Lauren Hill.