The seniors on the MSU men’s soccer team have never lost to Michigan. In the past three seasons the Spartans are 3-0-1 and the Big Bear Trophy, awarded to the winner of each game between the two teams, has found a temporary hibernation home in the Spartans’ trophy case.
It seems easy enough: an advantage in players with time to set up a play, a little more than 15 yards away from your opponent’s goal. But in its 2-1 loss to No. 3 Wake Forest, the No. 4 MSU field hockey team struggled on penalty corners. The team was awarded 13 and didn’t score on any of them.
When the MSU volleyball team went on its first Big Ten road trip, it felt a little overwhelmed.
MSU’s annual Midnight Madness event will take place at 10:30 p.m. tonight at Breslin Center, with doors opening at 9:30 p.m. for autographs on the concourse. There also will be promotional giveaways and performances by the Spartan Marching Band, MSU cheerleaders, MSU Dance Team and Sparty throughout the night
There are two main strengths MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo has seen in the preseason thus far. Athletic ability and an improved depth. And at MSU’s men’s basketball Media Day on Wednesday, Izzo said his team will continue to use those strengths and fight hard in the weeks leading up to its first preseason game (Nov. 5 vs. Northern Michigan) in order to get to a specific point as a unit — confident to take on the Big Ten schedule.
The men’s soccer team didn’t have to reschedule its game against No.14 Illinois-Chicago after it was canceled on Sept. 14 due to the heavy rainstorm that caused DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field to resemble a lake more than a soccer field. But MSU head coach Joe Baum wanted to reschedule the game against the No. 14 ranked team in the country to help his team gain experience against yet another quality opponent.
For the first time since the spring, the MSU men’s basketball team — with the addition of three new faces — was fully dressed for Media Day at Breslin Center. Answering questions about the past, present and future, the Spartans were amped and ready to kick off the 2008-09 schedule Nov. 5 against Northern Michigan, head coach Tom Izzo’s alma mater.
Freshman forward Andrew Conboy didn’t just make an impression on MSU head coach Rick Comley this weekend — he made an impression on Massachusetts and Boston University players in the form of numerous bumps and bruises.
With a host of Ohio State playmakers making their way to Spartan Stadium on Saturday, the MSU defense is going to have its hands full in a showdown featuring two of the last three unbeaten Big Ten teams.
They’ve played through utter downpours, extreme 98-degree heat, adversity from losing a senior midfielder as well as the constant low expectations spewed their way about how the Spartans don’t have what it takes to be a Big Ten competitor.
Freshman forward Laura Heyboer cannot only score three goals in a single game — she also can rack up three Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week awards in one season.
My inquiries on how MSU men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo works his magic to mold such quality athletes while keeping them so well-behaved have been wiped clean. I understand it now because my niche changed from reporter to athlete, even if it was short-lived.
Going into this season, the MSU volleyball team knew it had two returning starters and a very young team.
There’s a strange, almost subliminal, difference in labels tagged to new head coaches hired in college football: You’re either a program architect or a program builder. A program architect is a finessed, white-collar coach who talks loudly, works from his high-rise building and favors lower taxes. Think U-M’s Rich Rodriguez or Florida’s Urban Meyer.
The MSU volleyball team suffered its first home loss of the season on Saturday, getting swept 3-0 by No. 21 Wisconsin. “I thought we were playing fairly well at times but we didn’t kick it in at the right times,” head coach Cathy George said. “We have to learn how to close things out.”
With only nine total shots in the first half Saturday, the matchup between the No. 6 MSU field hockey team and No. 3 Wake Forest was destined to be tough. But even as the team outshot the Demon Deacons 17-7 and earned 13 penalty corners in the game, it couldn’t find the back of the cage enough, as Wake Forest scored late to win 2-1.
It’s difficult to defeat an unbeaten team in the conference when the ball is hardly ever in your possession. And for the MSU women’s soccer team, the lack of ball control and pressure in Penn State’s zone made the Spartans look as if they wouldn’t have enough in the tank to power past the Nittany Lions.
It felt like overtime was inevitable — no goals after 83 minutes of play. The teams went back and forth all game long, trying to press on through the heat, looking for that first big mistake so one team could capitalize on it.
Boston — The No. 11 MSU hockey team knew what it was getting itself into heading to Boston to compete in the Ice Breaker Invitational this weekend. MSU had hit the road for two tough games against veteran teams, but it would be a great way to see where the 11 freshmen stood in their ability to compete at the collegiate level.
There was a big hit and a fumble recovery by freshman linebacker David Rolf. A heads-up play by sophomore safety Jesse Johnson, who waved for a fair-catch on a surprise onside kick attempt. A kick return average of 35 yards by freshman running back Glenn Winston, who gave the No. 23 MSU football team great starting field position time and time again.