MSU Heads To Oakland For Non-conference Tilt
10/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 13, 2010
The Particulars
Michigan State women's soccer squad will take a break from conference play when it travels to Oakland University on Thursday (Oct. 14). The teams kickoff at OU Soccer Field at 4:00 p.m
Listen to the Spartan Sports Podcasts:
Head Coach Tom | Jill | Laura
Scouting the Spartans
Michigan State comes into the matchup with a 2-1-1 Big Ten record and is 7-3-2 on the season. The Spartans are coming off a grueling 0-0 draw with archrival Michigan on Saturday (Oct. 10). The tie makes MSU undefeated in its last seven outings against the Wolverines, and is the fourth straight tie. Jill Flietstra earned her ninth shutout of the season with three saves. The junior has only allowed one goal in the last seven games and boasts a GAA of 0.56 and a save percentage of .883. After a scoreless weekend, Laura Heyboer and Olivia Stander are still leading the Spartans offensively, owning eight and six goals, respectively. Megan Pines and Annie Steinlage are tied for the team lead in assists with four each.
Looking at the Golden Grizzlies
Riding an unbeaten streak of eight games, Oakland University enters Thursday's competition with an overall record of 7-4-2, 3-0-1 in the Summit League.The Golden Grizzlies' scoring is spread out among 13 players, but Nicole DeLuca has a substantial team lead with eight goals and Sarah Lynch has tallied five. With five assists, Julianne Boyle is leading the team in that category. In 12 games played this season, Shannon Coley has a GAA of 1.29 and a save percentage of .706.
Big Ten Luminaries
Laura Heyboer and Olivia Stander are maintaining spots in the Big Ten statistical rankings. Heyboer is second-best in the conference in both points (18) and goals (8). Stander is also making an appearance in those categories, with 15 points and six goals. Megan Pines and Annie Steinlage are both tied for fourth in the Big Ten in assists, with four each, and tied for fifth in assists per game (0.33). Jill Flietstra is number one in the Big Ten in saves per game (4.42), shutouts (9) and shutouts per game (.75). The junior is also third in the conference in saves with 53.
NCAA Notes
MSU stayed at No. 3 in NCAA statistics this week in shutout percentage, thanks to Jill Flietstra's nine shutouts in 12 games so far this season. The Spartans are also in 17th in GAA (.558) and 10th in save percentage (.883). Individually, Flietstra shot up eight spots to 13th in the nation in save percentage with a .883 average and 19th in GAA (.558).
Climbing the Ladder
Junior Laura Heyboer continues to climb the all-time scoring charts. The forward currently sits in third place in career scoring with 90 points, and now also holds in third place with 37 career goals. She also has 16 career assists, tying Lauren Hill and Leah Hutko for 11th on the all-time list. Heyboer is only three scores away from becoming Michigan State's all-time leading goal scorer. She is seven points shy of the all-time points record, and also is tied for second in game-winning goals (12).
Jill Flietstra is currently in eighth for career saves with 133, and is in fourth in shutouts with 15. The junior now stands alone in seventh in career wins (19); seven of which have come in her 11 starts this season. She currently holds the number one spot for career GAA (0.74). She is also sitting at seventh in all-time wins (18) and eighth in total saves (136).
Head Coach Tom Saxton needs three wins to reach the 200-win plateau. He is in his 20th season as the head coach at Michigan State.
Big Ten Pundits
MSU was picked fourth in the 2010 Big Ten preseason poll of coaches. Penn State was selected as the league favorite for the eighth consecutive season, followed by Ohio State, Wisconsin, and the Spartans. Following MSU in the poll, in order, is Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Northwestern, and Iowa. Players to Watch
Spartan senior Cara Freeman and juniors Laura Heyboer and Jill Flietstra were named to the Big Ten's "Players to Watch" list. Three student-athletes were selected from each school.
Spartan Staff
Michigan State head coach Tom Saxton is in his 20th season in command of the women's soccer program. He entered the season with a 190-157-34 record, and is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009. He has Associate Head Coach Tammy Farnum returning for her 14th season and assistant Stacy Heller for her seventh, both after four-year careers in Green and White.
