Men's Soccer Set To Face Bowling Green
9/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 19, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's soccer team will travel to Ohio for a non-conference match against Mid-American Conference opponent Bowling Green on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. The Spartans (5-2-0) have defeated the Falcons in both of the previous two meetings between the schools and are 12-16-5 all-time against BGSU. This will be MSU's third consecutive road game.
"We've got to go down there and play with the focus that we play with in Big Ten games," MSU head coach Joe Baum said. "We want to earn an NCAA Tournament bid, and the committee doesn't look favorable upon you if you lose to a team that's struggling a little bit."
Bowling Green brings a 1-6-1 record into Wednesday's match-up, with its lone victory coming in a 2-1 overtime win against Western Illinois on Aug. 25. In their last outing on Sept. 17, the Falcons suffered a 4-1 setback against Wright State. BGSU has been limited to just six goals in eight games this season, with half of those coming courtesy of freshman Ahmad Smith.
Senior goalkeeper Jason Tillman leads Michigan State into action, with a 0.51 goals-against average, recording four shutouts this season. He has played every minute between the posts for MSU in 2006 and was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Sept. 11.
Junior attacker Kenzo Webster paces the Spartan attack with five goals, while sophomore Louis Stephens III has found the netting twice. Sophomores Zac Scaffidi and Doug DeMartin have each chipped in two assists this year, with Scaffidi adding a goal.
The Green and White has been ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation this season by Soccer America. In their last outing and Big Ten opener on Sept. 17, the Spartans dropped a 3-1 decision to Penn State. Michigan State's goal was generated off the bench as non-starters Stephens and Kevin Reiman hooked up for the score.
Michigan State has two games slated for this week, welcoming conference foe Wisconsin to Old College Field on Sunday, Sept. 24. MSU has not had a home game since Sept. 3. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.
