Spartans Host UIC Tuesday
9/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2011
The Particulars
Michigan State hosts Illinois-Chicago in a midweek non-conference contest.
The All-Time Series
MSU owns an 11-4-3 record all-time against the Flames, which includes a 7-l-0 mark in East Lansing. The teams are meeting for the third time in four seasons after a nine-year hiatus in the series. UIC was ranked in the top 15 in each of the last two meetings, which were won by MSU (2-0 in 2008) and tied (0-0 in 2009).
State of the Spartans
MSU is 1-5-2 on the season, with all of its losses by a single goal and two of its losses coming in overtime. Three significant injuries have taken two potential All-Big Ten candidates out of the lineup - Domenic Barone was lost for the season before it began, and Kevin Cope was injured in the second game of the year against Connecticut - and Tim Kreutz has not played at all this season as well.
The Spartans opened Big Ten Conference play last Saturday evening with a 1-1 deadlock with Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Jeremy Clark was once again MSU's rock, as he turned away five shots to keep the Spartans in the game.
Adam Montague tally gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead midway through the second half. In the 58th minute, Ryan Keener was assessed a red card, putting the Spartans down for the balance of the game. Montague's tally four minutes later provided a large lift for MSU; the play was a free kick from the right side, and Mark Barone left-footed the kick netward. Montague got his head on it and put the ball into the right-side netting. It was the first collegiate tally for the talented frontrunner.
The Spartans were once again buoyed by the play of the senior captain Clark, who made impressive back-to-back saves late in the game to keep Northwestern off the board. He made an impressive one-handed diving save to his left to stop a Reed Losee shot, then punched away another Wildcat attempt moments later off a corner kick. ,P> The Wildcats finally got an equalizer with just 2:43 remaining in regulation. Scott Lakin provided the service from the left side outside the 18, and Kyle Schickel scored off the volley. It was the first goal of the season for Schickel, and just the second goal scored in the second half for the Wildcats all season.
The teams battled through the remainder of regulation and the first overtime period without a score. The heavy rain began to fall as the teams took the field for the second overtime, and despite some late chances for the Wildcats, they could not mount a threat and the teams settled on the deadlock. The Wildcats outshot MSU 14-3 and had a 6-2 edge in shots on net. Northwestern had 14 corners to the Spartans two, but MSU committed just nine fouls to the Wildcats 18.
Stat of the Week
MSU's 3-0 victory over New Hampshire is the only game for the Spartans this season that was not settled by a goal or less.
Scouting the Flames
UIC comes into Tuesday's contest as winners of their last three games, two of which came in overtime. Eric Frazier is the team's scoring leader with six goals, while Ivan Stanisavljevic owns the team lead in points (13), coming on four goals and five helpers. Piotr Kikolski has shouldered the load in net for the Flames, boasting a .727 save percentage and a 1.36 GAA.
Honoring a Legend
On Oct. 8-9, the Spartan men's and women's soccer programs will salute Joe Baum, who retired from Michigan State University on June 30 after parts of six decades as a part of the MSU soccer programs. The former Spartan mentor will be honored at both the women's game against Illinois on Saturday and the men's game against Penn State. It is also alumni weekend for both programs.
Baum served as the head coach of the men's program for 32 years, and was the women's program's first head coach (1986-90). He stepped down from his position of men;s head coach after the 2008 season, and served his final two seasons as an assistant to his former player and assistant, Damon Rensing.
Baum, who was a goalkeeper for the men's soccer program in the late 60s and helped the Spartans win a share of the 1968 NCAA Championship, helped the most recent team into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, where it fell to North Carolina in penalty kicks. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in the early 70s, and patrolled the Spartan sidelines for 36 seasons. Baum stepped down as the head coach of the program after the 2008 campaign, turning the reins of the program over to his longtime assistant and former player, Rensing. Baum stayed on with the program as an assistant coach to his protégé, and last season, helped lead the Spartans into the NCAA Round of 16, the furthest MSU had advanced in the NCAA Tournament since Baum was the team's goalkeeper for the Spartan 1968 NCAA co-Champions.
Media Darlings
The Big Ten Network will air 10 men's soccer games this fall, and of the nine that have been announced, three will feature Michigan State in Big Ten Conference matchups at DeMartin Stadium. The Spartans host Ohio State on Sunday, Oct. 2 at noon, which will be the second game of the men's soccer package on the Network. The Spartans will host Penn State a week later, also a noon game, and then will tangle with Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 30 in a battle for the Big Bear Trophy.
Next Up
MSU returns to Big Ten play on Sunday, hosting Ohio State.
