MSU travels to Wisconsin, Minnesota
10/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 22, 2010
The Particulars
Michigan State takes to the road for a weekend Big Ten series. The Spartans will first travel to Wisconsin for a Friday game (Oct. 22) against the Badgers. MSU's Sunday tilt will be in Minneapolis against the Golden Gophers, a game that will air live on the Big Ten Network.
Scouting the Spartans
Michigan State is unbeaten in its last five games (4-0-1), has not allowed a goal in that span, dating back to a penalty-kick goal in the 19th minute against Penn State on Sept. 26. Laura Heyboer continues to lead the Spartans in scoring with a 10-2-22 line, and running mate Olivia Stander has seven goals and four helpers for 16 points. Annie Steinlage and Megan Pines both have four assists to share the team lead in that category with Stander. Jill Flietstra boasts a .894 saves percentage and a 0.56 GAA.
Series Records
Michigan State trails the all-time series with Wisconsin by a 4-21-2 ledger. The Badgers have won two straight in the series, including a 1-0 decision last fall. MSU's last win came in 2007, 2-1.
The all-time series with the Golden Gophers is a 9-9-1 deadlock, but the series has primarily been one of significant winning streaks on both sides. MSU has won two straight and nine of the last 10 meetings dating back to the 2000 season. The Gophers had won eight of the first nine games played between the schools, with the only tie coming in the second game in the series in 1994 - a 1-1 deadlock in the first game of the regular season.
A Look at the Opposition
Wisconsin is 7-4-4 overall, and holds a 4-1-2 conference record. In their last outing, Wisconsin scored its second-ever win over Penn State last Sunday, with a 3-2 victory allowing the Badgers to move past the Nittany Lions into sole possession of second place in the Big Ten Conference standings. Much like the Spartans, the Badger squad has built its success on defense: UW ranks second to MSU in goals allowed, goals against, and shutouts.
Laurie Nosbusch currently owns five goals this season, while Kodee Williams and Alev Kelter round out Wisconsin's top three scorers with two goals each. Michele Dalton has dominated Badger defense, in 13 games played she has posted a GAA of .44 and a save percentage of .912.
The Golden Gophers enter the weekend with a 10-4-2 overall record. Minnesota dropped back-to-back games last weekend against Penn State and Ohio State to fall to 2-3-1 in conference games. Minnesota sits atop the Big Ten in nearly every team offensive category: points (106), goals (31), and assists (44).
Four Gophers have reached double digit points already in 2010. Senior Katie Bethke (16), junior Shari Eckstrom (15), senior Molly Rouse (15), and junior Tamara Strahota (12) are pacing the Big Ten's most productive offense.
Another Brick in the Wall
Jill Flietstra is riding a shutout streak of 540:28, dating back to the Penn State game. In all, she has ten shutouts in 13 games. Flietstra has not allowed a goal in the run of play dating back to the first half in a 3-2 loss to Milwaukee on Sept. 5 - a span of 896:09 in which Flietstra has shut out opponents in the run of play. The only goal allowed in that span was a penalty kick in the 1-0 loss at Penn State.
No One Better
With her pair of goals on Thursday, Oct. 14 at Oakland, Laura Heyboer tied Michigan State's career goal record, netting her 38th and 39th against the Golden Grizzlies. Heyboer is now tied with Michele Wise (1986-89) with 39 career markers, and has five games remaining in the regular season of her junior year. Her current 10-2-22 is tied for 21st in points in a single season at MSU - Heyboer also holds a tie for second (51 points in 2008) and 23rd (21 points in an injury-shortened 2009) in the single-season annals.
Heyboer's five game-winners this season is tied for third in the single-season recordbook and a personal best for the frontrunner, who had four in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. With 13 career game-winners, she sits in second place in that category, two behind school recordholder Lauren Hill.
Race for the Century
Heyboer is five-points shy of the all-time points record; her 39-16-94 line is only behind Wise (39-21-99). The junior is likely to become the school's first 100-point scorer in school history.
Dangerous at Both Ends
While Laura Heyboer rewrites the MSU offensive recordbook, goalie Jill Flietstra is doing her part to require several rewrites on the defensive end as well. . Flietstra currently holds the number one spot for career GAA (0.70), she is currently in eighth for career saves with 148, and is now standing alone in third place in shutouts with 18. The junior is tied with Erin O'Connell (1992-1995) in sixth in career wins (20); nine of which have come in her 14 starts this season.
Nearing a Milestone
Head Coach Tom Saxton needs one wins to reach the 200-win plateau. He is in his 20th season as the head coach at Michigan State, entered the season with a 190-157-34 record, and is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.
Big Ten Leaders
As MSU is tied at fourth in the conference; several individuals are maintaining spots in the Big Ten statistical rankings. Laura Heyboer has taken over the Big Ten lead in points (22), points per game (1.69), goals (10), goals per game (0.77), and game-winning goals (5). Olivia Stander is tied at second in game-winners (4), third in points (18) and points per game (1.29), fourth in goals (7), fifth in goals per game (0.50), and tied with Annie Steinlage and Megan Pines for ninth in assists (4) and assists per game (0.29). Flietstra is first in shutouts (10) and shutouts per game (0.77). She is second in saves (59), saves per game (4.64) and save percentage (.903), and moved to third in goals against average (0.48).
NCAA Notes
MSU is now at No. 2 in NCAA statistics this week in shutout percentage, thanks to Jill Flietstra's 11 shutouts in 14 games so far this season. The Spartans also shot up 12 positions to 5th in GAA (.481) and 3rd in save percentage (.903). Individually, Flietstra continues to climb NCAA standings, moving up to sixth in the nation in save percentage with a .903 average and 10th in GAA (.558). Statistics are released every Monday.
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 preseason "Players to Watch" list. Three student-athletes were selected from each school.
Next Up
Michigan State will host Illinois and Iowa next weekend (Oct. 29/31) to wrap up its regular-season home slate. Sunday's game againt the Hawkeyes will also be MSU's Senior Day celebration, honoring the four Spartan seniors prior to their final regular-season home contest.
