Spartans Upend Sixth Ranked Texas A&M

Sept. 2, 2005

EAST LANSING, Mich. - -

The women's soccer team picked up its first win of the season in style, improving to 1-1-1, with a 1-0 overtime win over sixth-ranked Texas A&M (2-1-0). Senior forward Emma Harris (Portage, Mich.) took a short pass from junior Linsey Laskowski (Troy, Mich.) and beat Aggie goalkeeper Kati Jo Spisak with a shot towards the lower right corner. The play began on a corner kick service by senior forward Dana Voorheis (Saginaw, Mich.). Sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Galas (Sterling Heights, Mich. - 6 saves) put together her third-consecutive strong start and picked up the first win and the first shutout of her career.

"Texas A&M is a great team and they're going to have a great season," said head coach Tom Saxton, "We had a game plan today and we stuck with it. We played hard and kept the energy up. In college sports, effort is everything."

Each team produced one great chance during the first half of play. For the Spartans,

Voorheis made a run down the seam and redirected a Breana Ballard (So., Battle Creek, Mich.) pass on target. Spisak played the ball perfectly and picked up the first of her two saves. Less than two minutes later Galas punched A&M forward Megan Garey's header over the crossbar.

The Spartan goalkeeper made two more big stops early in the second half; flying into a crowd and picking off a free kick attempt, and robbing Aggie Allison Martino from in close.

Harris nearly put the Green and White on top at the 68:11 mark when her shot from 25 yards slipped through the hands of Spisak; but the A&M goalkeeper recovered to pick the ball up off the line.

Galas pushed another shot over the bar late in the second half to preserve the tie and force overtime and set the stage for Harris' heroics.

"Dana made a great serve across the box, once I got the ball I just turned and shot," Harris said.

The Aggies fired 14 shots, but managed only six shots on goal, thanks to a stingy Spartan backline led by junior Jenee Witherspoon (Midland, Mich.) and sophomores Erin Doan (Dearborn, Mich.), Kelly Hannon (Elmhurst, Ill.) and Taryn Lee (Saginaw, Mich.).

Said Galas of her teammates, "They were amazing. I didn't really have to do too much back there today."

Michigan State returns to action Sunday Sept. 4 against the University of Texas. The game is slated for 4:00 p.m. at Old College Field. The Spartans will look to sweep their end of the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge with a win.

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Players Mentioned

Breana Ballard

Erin Doan

Nicole Galas

Kelly Hannon

Emma Harris

Linsey Laskowski

Taryn Lee

Dana Voorheis

Jenee Witherspoon