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.
It wasn’t pretty in the first half, but eventually No. 7 MSU pulled away Saturday, topping Penn State, 34-10, from Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Although the Spartans have the week off, they took home a few honors Monday with nine players being selected to All-Big Ten teams. This included a couple of individual awards. Senior wide receiver Tony Lippett won the Richter-Howard Big Ten Receiver of the Year award and senior free safety Kurtis Drummond won the Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year award.
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.
No. 7 MSU entered the week already eliminated from the Big Ten race, but in the minds of players and coaches there was still a lot on the table to play for.
For the MSU women’s cross country team, it wasn’t just one runner who brought home the Division I NCAA championship.
No. 16 MSU welcomed the visiting Miami (OH) Red Hawks for a Sunday afternoon game, but the Spartans faced little opposition, cruising to a 85-39 victory. Miami (1-3) sat in a 2-3 zone to start, and the Spartans (4-1) made the Red Hawks pay with a couple early threes from senior guard Anna Morrissey and sophomore guard Tori Jankoska. Morrissey, a former walk-on, scored a career-high 11 points last game against Oakland, but she improved that number to 17 against Miami.
Cold shooting in the second half doomed the men's basketball team in the Orlando Classic championship game. Behind 19 points and nine rebounds from junior forward Perry Ellis, No. 11 Kansas (5-1 overall) defeated the No. 20 Spartans (5-2 overall) 61-56 in Kissimmee, Florida.
MSU football has moved up three spots to No. 7 in the latest AP Poll after knocking off Penn State, 34-10, on Saturday from Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa.
No. 10 MSU (10-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten) survived a slow offensive start that turned into a late resurgence to beat Penn State (6-6 overall, 2-6 Big Ten) 34-10.
MSU football will look for its 10th win of the season against Penn State Saturday, and football beat writers Geoff Preston and Robert Bondy believe the Spartans will have no problem getting the victory.
The volleyball team closed its regular season on a five game winning streak. MSU (18-13 overall, 11-9 Big Ten) defeated Iowa (14-17 overall, 6-14 Big Ten) in straight sets.
Marquette gave the men's basketball team everything they could handle on Friday night, but Marquette ultimately couldn't overcome a career night from Denzel Valentine.
Four years ago, MSU football traveled to Beaver Stadium looking to achieve something the program hadn’t done in 20 years — win a Big Ten Championship.
The men's basketball team took care of business on Thanksgiving day, defeating Rider 77-45 to advance to the semifinal round of the Orlando Classic.
The volleyball team saved its best performance for the last home game of the regular season. MSU (17-13 overall, 10-9 Big Ten) swept No. 19 Purdue (22-9 overall, 12-7 Big Ten), 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-21) on senior night at Jenison Field House.
A dominant game from sophomore forward Aerial Powers helped the Spartans defeat Oakland, 79-64, at Breslin Center on the eve of Thanksgiving.
No. 10 MSU (9-2 overall, 6-1 Big Ten) will travel to Penn State (6-5 overall, 2-5 Big Ten) this Saturday for its final game of the regular season. Head coach Mark Dantonio addressed the media on Tuesday, breaking down the importance of this week’s game, the secondary’s current situation and disrespect from Big Ten officials.
After losing a number of talented players from a year ago, it was known that for MSU to have success this season, fresh faces would have to step up. It appears freshman forward Marvin Clark Jr. and sophomore forward Gavin Schilling have the potential to be a couple of those guys.
In his first start at MSU, freshman forward Marvin Clark Jr. took full advantage of his opportunity.