Women's Soccer Set for NCAA First Round
11/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 12, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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The Michigan State women's soccer team will take on UW-Milwaukee on Friday (Nov. 14) at 5:00 p.m. in South Bend, Ind., in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans are making their third all-time tournament appearance, all coming since 2002.
The winner of the MSU/UW-Milwaukee game will take on the winner of the Notre Dame/Toledo matchup. Host school Notre Dame is the No. 1 overall seed in this year's 64-team field.
THE FIELD: Take a look at the entire 2008 NCAA Tournament field here.
TICKETS: Tickets are available through the Notre Dame Athletics Ticket Office at 574.631.7356 or on-line at www.und.com/tickets.
LIVE VIDEO: A free, live video webcast of each game this weekend is available at www.und.com.
GAMETRACKER: Track the game live .
The Opener...Michigan State received its third NCAA bid in program history, all since 2002, and will take on UW-Milwaukee in the first round. The winner will take on either Toledo or Notre Dame and all games will be played in South Bend, Ind.
• MSU is 6-1 all-time against the Panthers. The last meeting, a 3-0 Spartan victory, came in 1993 in East Lansing.
• This season marks the Spartans' first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2005 when they defeated Bowling Green, 4-0, in South Bend, Ind.
• Friday's game features the top two freshmen in the nation in MSU's Laura Heyboer and the Panthers' Sarah Hagen.
Big Dance History: Michigan State is 1-2 in two appearances all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans' first bid in program history came in 2002 when they posted a 12-6-2 record but fell in the first round to Miami (Ohio), 2-1. In 2005, MSU returned to the Tournament, and won their first game, defeating Bowling Green, 4-0. MSU then fell to Notre Dame, 3-0, in the second round. Eight Spartans from the 2005 team remain on this season's roster.
Big Ten Honors: Freshman Laura Heyboer was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, unanimously, on Wednesday by the conference office. She was also a unanimous All-Big Ten first team honoree. Junior Lauren Sinacola joined her on the first team. MSU also had second-team honorees in Lauren Hill and Cara Freeman. Katelin Chaklos, along with Heyboer, were selected to the All-Freshman Team.
Heyboer is the first Spartan to win Freshman of the Year laurels and first Spartan to win Player of the Year honors since Karen Winslow in 1994. She is also the first freshman to win Offensive Player of the year since the award's inception in 2004.
Common Opponents: The Spartans and Panthers have six common opponents in Wisconsin, Ohio State, Western Michigan, Northwestern, Loyola and Detroit. UW-Milwaukee went 6-1 against the field, falling to Loyola once during the regular season and then defeating them in the conference tournament. The Spartans went 5-1, losing at Wisconsin.
Stepping Up: Freshman goalkeeper Jill Flietstra has now started the last four games in goal for the Spartans. Prior to making a season-high seven stops in MSU's Big Ten Tournament loss to Penn State, she made five stops in regulation and then another three in the seven-round shootout with Illinois. With a 0-1-3 record, the Hudsonville native is still looking for her first-career win. She current boasts a stingy 0.60 goals-against average.
Offensive Domination: The Spartans' 46 goals this season are the most since Big Ten soccer began in 1994 and the most in program history since 1991 when they scored 50.
On the flip side, the 18 goals MSU has surrendred is the lowest since 2000 when they also allowed 18.
Freshman Sensation: Entering this week, Laura Heyboer was tied for third in the NCAA in points (47) and was tied for second in goals (19). She has led the Big Ten in points and goals in each week of the season.
Heyboer's 47 points and 19 goals both rank third on MSU's single-season lists. She needs 10 more points this season to match the second-place mark and four goals to tie for second on the goals list.
Racking Up the Ws: MSU's 13 wins this season are the most in school history since Big Ten women's soccer began in 1994 and the most by a MSU team since 1991 when it won 14 games.
MSU's 13 wins this season mark the fifth time in the last eight seasons the Spartans have reached a dozen wins.
Quick Start: The Spartans' 10 wins in their first 11 games of the season was the fastest any MSU team has reached the 10-win plateau in program history.
First Goal = Win: MSU is a perfect 12-0 when scoring first this season. However, when the opponent scores first, the Spartans are 1-4-2.
No Place Like Home: The Spartans went undefeated (9-0-2) at home this season. It was their best home record in East Lansing since 1989 when they went 10-0.
One-Two Punch: Laura Heyboer (47 points, 19 goals) and junior Lauren Hill (33 points, 12 goals) ranked one and two, respectively, in the Big Ten in points and goals this season.
Hill Moving Up the Charts: With 12 goals this season and 28 in her career, Lauren Hill is in eighth place on the MSU all-time goals list. Hill's 33 points this season have also moved her into sole possession of eighth place all-time with 69 for her career.
Something New: The Spartans' Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game with Illinois marked the first time in MSU's 437-game program history that the Spartans decided a game on penalty kicks.
Firsts: Eight Spartans have recorded their first-career collegiate points this season. Five freshmen (Mikki Dennis, Taylor Miller, Katelin Chaklos, Sarah Stern and Hannah Peterson), two sophomores (Kelsey Tait, and Coutney Shegos) and one junior (Kate Rehor ) have all gotten on the scoresheet in 2008.
Helping the Cause: Junior Lauren Sinacola led the Big Ten in assists this season with 10. Her 10 assists also put her in a fourth-place tie on the MSU single-season assists chart. Her 17 career assists rank 10th on the MSU all-time list.
Weekly Conference Honors: Laura Heyboer earned a record three Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week awards this season. Heyboer became the first freshman in conference history to earn the award three times in a season and also set the MSU mark for the most weekly accolades in a season. Fellow forward Lauren Hill garnered the award earlier this season as well as goalkeeper Lindsey Wrege who has won conference Defensive Player of the Week twice this season.
Against Non-League Opponents: MSU went 8-2-2 against non-Big Ten opponents this season. Laura Heyboer and Lauren Hill each scored nine goals while Heyboer led the team with 25 points in non-league action.
