First NCAA Tournament Appearance Awaits Women's Soccer
11/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 14, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
NCAA TournamentAnn Arbor, Mich.MSU vs. Miami (Ohio)Nov. 15, 11:00 a.m.
Michigan State Game Notes
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TOP STORY: MSU is making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in the program's 17 year history. The 12-6-2 Spartans will take on the 18-2-2 Miami RedHawks at 11 a.m. on Friday in Ann Arbor. In the Spartans last outing they fell to Wisconsin, 1-0, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
HEAD COACH TOM SAXTON: MSU head coach Tom Saxton is in his 12th season directing the women's soccer program. His career record currently stands at 114-104-19. Saxton has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year twice in his tenure, in 1994 and 2000. In his first year with the program, 1991, he led MSU to 14 wins, which remains a single-season high. Friday's match also marks his first trip to the NCAA Tournament as a coach.
A BIT ABOUT THE TOURNEY: The Spartans' first-round foe in the NCAA Tournament, Miami (Ohio) is making its third-straight appearance. The meeting will mark the first time the two schools have met. Also squaring off in Ann Arbor will be Oakland (10-11-1), who won the MCC Tournament, and Michigan (13-5-2). MSU defeated Oakland earlier this season, 2-0, and tied the Wolverines, 1-1, on Oct. 25.
TAKING ON THE BEST: Nine of the Spartans' 19 opponents this season are joining MSU in the NCAA Tournament. Of the nine schools, State recorded wins over Oakland (2-0), Kentucky (2-0), Ohio State (3-2) and Purdue (2-1). MSU tied Michigan (1-1) and fell to Dayton (1-0), twice to Wisconsin (3-1, 1-0), Penn State (3-0) and Furman (1-0).
COMMON FOES: Both the Spartans and RedHawks have faced Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Purdue this season. MSU boasts a 4-0 record against these teams while Miami is 4-1-1 agains those teams, having beaten BGSU twice, EMU once, tying Purdue and going 1-1 against CMU.
LASKOWSKI MAKING MARK: With nine goals this season, not only is junior Tiffany Laskowski the team leader, but it is the most goals scored by any Spartan since 1998 when Jessica Moorman scored 10. Laskowski's 23 points are the most by a Spartan since 1994 when Karen Winslow registered 26 and Kristin Lester notched 28.
ALL-CONFERENCE SPARTANS: Michigan State was well represented on the All-Big Ten teams released last Friday. Junior goalkeeper Stacy Heller, junior defender Andi Sied and sophomore Abby Shepherd all earned a spot on the first-team, marking the first time three Spartans earned first-team honors. Junior forward Tiffany Laskowski was a second-team honoree, while Emma Harris made the All-Freshman team.
HELLER NEARS SHUTOUT MARK: Goalkeeper Stacy Heller has matched her shutout total of last season with seven, giving her a career total of 15.5 - just one shy of Sara Kloosterman (1997-00) on the MSU career list. With one more shutout she will also tie the single-season mark of eight set by Erin O'Connell in 1984. The NCAA, however, has not given credit for combined shutouts for the last two years. If it continued to recognize half shutouts, Heller would have 17.5 shutouts for her career.
WIN TOTALS RISING: With 12 wins this season, it marks the second time in the past three seasons State has reached that mark. It is also the third-consecutive season State has reached double-digits in victories.
BIG TEN WELL REPRESENTED: By placing six teams (MSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue and Ohio State) in the tournament, the Big Ten Conference tied the ACC and Pac-10 for most schools competing in the 64-team field.
CLASS EQUALITY: With eight of its 10 top scorers returning next season, MSU looks to be on pace for another fine season next year. The team's top five scorers -Tiffany Laskowski (23 points), Michelle Perun (16 points), Emma Harris (16 points), Erin Konheim (13 points) and Abby Shepherd (12 points)-will all be returning next season. In fact, State's freshmen and sophomores have accounted for over 46 percent of the Spartans' total points.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Two Spartans were recognized by the Big Ten Conference earlier this season for their defensive efforts. Junior Andrea Sied earned Co-Defensive Player of the Week (9/2) honors after helping the Green and White defeat Bowling Green, 4-0, in its season opener. The defensive anchor helped hold the Falcons to just two shots and added an assist. Goalkeeper Stacy Heller also garnered Co-Defensive Player of the Week (9/23) honors after recording back-to-back shutouts in wins over Illinois and Iowa.
BIG TEN SUCCESS IN 2002: State's 5-3-2 conference mark is its best since 1994 when it went 5-1-1. Though MSU won five Big Ten matches in 2000, it also lost four, giving the 2002 squad a higher winning percentage.
DEFENSIVE MINDED: Due to one of the toughest defenses in the Big Ten and one of the league's best goalkeepers, the Spartans have allowed just 15 goals through 20 games this season. In fact, 10 of the Spartans' 12 wins have come in the form of shutouts with the Green and White outscoring its opponents, 29-0, in those wins. It is the most shutouts for MSU since 1994 and the most shutout-wins since 1987.
AGAINST RANKED FOES: Four MSU opponents this season have been ranked in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll when they took on the Spartans. MSU defeated then No. 19 Kentucky, 2-0, (Sep. 13) and then No. 20 Purdue, 2-1 (Oct. 13). Both victories came on the road. At home, the Spartans tied then No. 21 Michigan, 1-1 (Oct. 25), and fell to then No. 13 Penn State, 3-0 (Oct. 6).
