MSU hosts Illinois, Iowa
10/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 28, 2010
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
The Particulars
The Michigan State women's soccer team will defend its undefeated record at DeMartin Stadium when it hosts Illinois on Friday (Oct. 29) and Iowa on Sunday (Oct. 31). Friday's matchup will begin at 3:00 p.m., while Sunday's tilt will kickoff at 12:00 p.m.
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Scouting the Spartans
Michigan State enters weekend competition with an overall record of 9-4-3, and is 3-2-2 in the Big Ten. Laura Heyboer continues to lead the Spartans in scoring with a 10-2-22 line, and running mate Olivia Stander has eight goals and four helpers for 20 points. Megan Pines leads the squad in assists, (5), while Annie Steinlage, and Hannah Peterson each have four assists to stand tied for second on the team in that category with Stander. Jill Flietstra boasts a .886 saves percentage and a 0.63 GAA. She has not allowed a goal at DeMartin Stadium this season.
Series Records
The all-time series with Illinois stands in favor of the Illini, who own an all-time mark of 9-3-1. The Fighting Illini are undefeated in their last seven games against MSU (5-0-2) dating back to 2003. MSU earned its last victory in the series in 2001 (2-0). Last year, Illinois posted a 5-0 victory in Champaign.
The Spartans are leading the all-time record with the Hawkeyes, 8-3-2. Michigan State's longest unbeaten streak in the series was six games (2002-2006.), and the Spartans have emerged victorious in each of the last two meetings. MSU won last year's matchup in Iowa City in overtime, 3-2 - Hannah Peterson had the golden goal in that contest.
A Look at the Opposition
No. 16 Illinois has jumped out to a record of 11-3-1 overall and is fourth in the Big Ten with a 4-2-1 record in conference play. The Fighting Illini split last weekend's results - they defeated league leader/No. 17 Ohio State on Thursday (Oct. 21) before falling to Penn State on Sunday (Oct. 24). Illinois rallied for a goal in the 84th minute of Thursday's tilt to defeat Ohio State for their second straight comeback victory.
Freshman Vanessa DiBernardo is currently carrying 10 goals and three assists for 23 points, good for the Big Ten lead (and one point ahead of MSU's leading scorer, Laura Heyboer) Megan Pawloski (4), Shayla Mutz (3) and Jordan Hilbrands round out Illinois' top scorers. Alexandra Kapicka is leading Illinois defense, in 15 games played she has posted a GAA of .70 and a save percentage of .850.
The Hawkeyes enter the weekend with an overall record of 7-7-2. Iowa dropped back-to-back games last weekend against Northwestern and Indiana, and enters Friday's game at Michigan winless ( 0-5-1) in conference games.
With 27 goals scored this season, Iowa's offense has been spread among 11 players. Leah DeMoss and Morgan Showalter top the list with five and four goals, respectively. As Iowa's go-to goalkeeper, Emily Moran currently owns a GAA of 1.23 and a save percentage of .767.
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 (0.74), she is currently in eighth for career saves with 161, 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 16 starts this season. She has 11 shutouts this season, one shy of tying the single-season mark set by Nicole Galus in 2005.
Nearing a Milestone
Head Coach Tom Saxton needs only one win 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 the 2010 season winds down, several Spartans are maintaining spots in the Big Ten statistical rankings. Laura Heyboer is tied for first the conference in game-winning goals (5) and goals (10). The junior is second in points (22), points per game (1.38), and goals per game (0.62). Olivia Stander is sitting at third in points (20) and points per game (1.25), and game-winning goals (4), fourth in goals (8), fifth in goals per game (0.50). Flietstra has taken over the Big Ten defensive leads. She is first in shutouts (11) and shutouts per game (0.69), saves (78), and saves per game (4.88), and third in goals against average (0.60).
NCAA Notes
MSU is now at No. 4 in NCAA statistics this week in shutout percentage, thanks to Jill Flietstra's 11 shutouts in 16 games so far this season. The Spartans are also 6th in the nation in save percentage (.886) and 19th in GAA (.596). Individually, Flietstra maintained her spot at 6th in the country in save percentage (.886), but is now 20th in GAA (.596). 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 conclude the 2010 regular season when they face the Buckeyes of Ohio State on Friday (Nov. 5). The teams will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
