Michigan State University Athletics
Women's Soccer Earns Bid To 2002 NCAA Tournament
11/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 11, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's soccer program took a big step Monday (Nov. 11), earning the school's first bid to the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament in the 17-year history of the program after going 12-6-2 this season. The Spartans will take on Miami (Ohio) on Friday (Nov. 15) in Ann Arbor on the campus of the University of Michigan.
The Spartans fell in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament to Wisconsin, 1-0, last Thursday but still felt they deserved the opportunity to take part in the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans watched the selection show live on ESPN NEWS Monday afternoon from the Berkowitz Complex.
"I just started screaming," said Andrea Sied (Jr., Livonia). "It was complete excitement and satisfaction that we were finally being recognized.
"It feels awesome," said MSU head coach Tom Saxton. "It has been a hard week, as you can imagine. I did consider after the way the Big Ten Tournament played out, we were probably closer to the bubble than we were last week. I had a lot of faith in the committee and I did feel that our team deserved to be in. I feel very satisfied." State finished fourth in the Big Ten in the regular season, going 5-3-2 in the conference and was one of six Big Ten teams to get a bid into the 64-team field, joining Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue.
"It feels wonderful. I've been here for four years now and this is the peak for me," said Amy Allen (Sr., Grand Blanc).
The Green and White recorded two victories over top-25 teams this season, both on the road as they defeated then No. 19 Kentucky, 2-0 (Sept. 13), and then No. 20 Purdue, 2-1 (Oct. 13).
MSU's first-round opponent, Miami (Ohio), has won 18 games this season and defeated Ohio University 5-1 in the MAC Conference Championship to earn an automatic bid.
"We have a lot common opponents so we will be able to gather some good information," said Saxton. "They are a very, very good team that had a great season. It will be a tough challenge but it will be nice to be somewhat close to home."
A time for Friday's game will be announced later in the week. Should the Spartans win Friday, they would take on the winner of Michigan-Oakland on Sunday.
