Oct. 12, 2005
East Lansing, Mich. - The Michigan State women's soccer team (8-3-3, 4-1-0 Big Ten) continues its conference slate this weekend, with trips to Iowa City (Oct. 14) and Champaign (Oct. 16). The Spartans are off to their best conference start since the 2002 season; that year the Green and White finished the year 12-7-2 overall, 5-3-2 in Big Ten action and qualified for the NCAA tournament. MSU currently sits in a fourth-place tie, with Purdue, in the Big Ten standings, just two games behind first-place Penn State.
Emma Harris (Portage, Mich.) paced the Spartan attack last weekend in wins over conference rivals, Wisconsin and Northwestern. The senior forward scored a pair of goals in each game to lift her season total to 10, the best single season total since 1998. Fellow seniors, Erin Konheim (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Nina Mastracci (Troy, Mich.) also contributed to the weekend sweep. Mastracci posted three assists, including the first multi-point point game of her career with a pair of helpers against the Badgers. Konheim also posted two assists against UW, moving her into a third-place tie on the career-assist chart at MSU, with 20. She sits just one assist shy of the school record, held by Caeri Thomas (1991-93) and Michele Wise (1986-89).
The Hawkeyes enter the weekend with an overall record of 2-8-4 (0-4-2 in Big Ten action) after a pair of losses to conference foes Minnesota, 1-0, and Penn State, 8-0. Iowa is led on offense by freshman forward Stephanie Hyink; Hyink has posted 5-3-13 for the Hawkeyes this season. Between the pipes, goalkeepers Lindsay Boldt and Erin McIsaac have combined to post a 1.87 GAA and a .768 save percentage. The Spartans lead the all-time series between the two schools 4-2-2.
Illinois is also coming off a pair of road losses to Minnesota, 2-1, and Penn State, 3-1. The Illini are 7-4-2 overall, 3-2-0 in Big Ten play and have been ranked in the top-25 for most of the season. Sophomore Lindsay Carstens has started 12 of 13 games for Illinois at goalkeeper and has posted a 1.02 GAA and a .754 save percentage. Up front, U of I is led by forwards Jessica Byrne and Eva Strickland; Byrne has netted 4-4-12 thus far in 2005, while Strikland checks in at 3-5-11. The Green and White is just 3-7-0 all-time against the Fighting Illini.
The Spartans will return home the following weekend, hosting Minnesota (Oct. 21) and Penn State (Oct. 23) in their final homestand of the 2005 season.
