Spartans Face Buckeyes in Final Regular Season Tilt
11/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 4, 2010
The Particulars
The Michigan State women's soccer team will finish its 2010 regular season when it travels to Columbus, Ohio on Friday (Nov. 5). The teams will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The game will be aired on tape-delay at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday on the Big Ten Network MSU enters the weekend at 9-5-4 overall, and 3-3-3 in the Big Ten.
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Scouting the Spartans
Michigan State played to a 1-1 double overtime tie with Iowa in its last contest (Oct. 31). Although the matchup was the final one in the regular season at DeMartin Stadium for 2010, the game was full of firsts. Midfielder Megan Pines tallied her first goal of the season, and goalkeeper Elizabeth Watza made her first career start, notching five saves against the Hawkeyes. Watza earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for her weekend play, allowing just one goal and making six stops in 155 minutes of action in place of Jill Flietstra.
Laura Heyboer continues to lead Spartan scoring, with 10 goals this season. Finishing eight goals so far, Olivia Stander is second-best on the team. Stander has also contributed four assists, and shares the title for most helpers with Hannah Peterson, Megan Pines, and Annie Steinlage. With 16 games played, Jill Flietstra is boasting a GAA of .68 and a save percentage of .885. In only 155 minutes of action, Watza owns a .58 GAA and a .857 save percentage.
Series Record
The Spartans and the Buckeyes are in a 8-8-0 deadlock in the all-time series records. Michigan State has beaten OSU in their last two matchups, including the 1-0 upset in 2009 that helped return the Spartans to the NCAA Tournament.
Coming Down the Stretch
With just one weekend left in the regular season, MSU finds itself in sixth place in the Big Ten standings with a 3-3-3 Conference record. Ohio State is tied with Penn State for second place with 7-2-0 marks, and both look to challenge league-leading Wisconsin. Both teams need a Badger loss for hope at a share of the Big Ten title.
A Look at the Buckeyes
After a heartbreaking loss to Indiana last weekend, No. 18 Ohio State is now 7-2-0 in the Big Ten and 13-4-1 on the season. The Buckeyes' offense is currently being led by Paige Maxwell, who has scored nine goals. Tiffany Cameron and Lauren Granberg round out the top three scorers for OSU, with five and four goals, respectively. Lauren Steuer has posted eight assists this season, which makes her the team-best in that category. Cameron and Liz Sullivan are following with five helpers each. Rachel Middleman is the Buckeyes' primary keeper and has a GAA of .55 and a save percentage of .818.
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). The junior is second in goals (10), points (22), points per game (1.22), and is fourth in goals per game (0.62). Olivia Stander is sitting at third in points (20) and game-winning goals (4), sixth in goals (8), and seventh in goals per game (0.44) and points per game (1.11). Although she hasn't seen action in 135 minutes, Flietstra is still going strong in the Big Ten defensive leads. She is tied for first in shutouts (11) and saves per game (5.00). The junior is second in the conference in save percentage (.885), saves (85), and shutouts per game (.69), and third in GAA (.64).
NCAA Notes
Michigan State is in the top of almost every major defensive category in the NCAA rankings. With 11 shutouts so far this season, the Spartans are now ninth in the nation in shutout percentage (.611). MSU is also seventh in save percentage (.885), and 21st in GAA (.632). Individually, Flietstra is eighth in the country in save percentage (.885), and 25th in GAA (.637). 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.
