Megan Marsack: Team First
10/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
By Nick Barnowski, MSU Athletic Communications Student Assistant
There are few things coaches love more than a complete team player.
For Michigan State women's soccer head coach Tom Saxton, Megan Marsack is exactly that.
"She's just a wonderful student-athlete," Saxton said. "She's a very pleasant person, kind, and gets along with her teammates really, really well."
The senior midfielder is relishing in a leadership role in her final season.
Marsack arrived on campus as a nervous freshman. Now, she leads all current Spartans in career games played with 66 and combines experience with savvy skills to patrol the MSU midfield.
"In the beginning I was kind of timid because I was the youngest, littlest one out there," Marsack said. "Being the oldest has changed it a lot."
The 21-year-old has certainly left her mark in her final season. She's scored two goals and has added two assists for the Spartans, who are 7-5-1 overall. Both of her goals were game winners with the first coming against Eastern Michigan in the home opener and the second against Nebraska on Oct. 5.
An injury kept Marsack off the field for five games from Sept. 14-Oct. 2, but she wasn't going to let it slow her down. After all, she has lived the sport since the age of 5.
"I played a bunch of sports when I was little," said Marsack, who grew up in Macomb Township. "I tried softball, but I was too bored with it. My parents said I could play soccer and from the second I got out there they could tell that's what I would play."
Her parents, Michael and Leslie, have been by her side from the start, and watch every MSU match, even when their daughter isn't slated to play.
Once she joined travel soccer, she knew she wanted to play in college. She played for the Michigan Gators, based out of both Macomb and Oakland County, under coach Henry Steinwascher.
"Club soccer was really important," she said. "My coach was awesome. We went to so many college showcases."
Marsack starred as a member of the Gators. She also was a member of the U.S. Olympic Development Program Michigan State Team from 2007-10 and was invited to the U17 Women's National Team camp in Florida in 2009. While playing with the ODP, Marsack met MSU associate head coach Tammy Farnum.
"I met her and she just talked to me and got me to visit MSU," Marsack said. "There was a couple other schools but I just loved the coaches and the environment here. Deep down I always knew I wanted to go here."
Marsack stepped right in, playing in 21 games as a freshman, scoring a goal along with an assist. She also tallied 13 shots and impressed Saxton with her offensive ability.
She's scored seven career goals - four of them game winners - and has 10 assists, second only to Paige Wester among current Spartans.
"She's one of the few players in her class to get playing time as a freshman because of her great offensive talents," Saxton said. "(She) is a playmaker and she's doing the job defensively, which is something we emphasize."
Academics is something the soccer program also emphasizes, and she has more than met the standard. An advertising major, Marsack is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, a reflection of her commitment to success in the classroom.
"(Academics) are very important to me," Marsack said. "I've been focusing a lot on trying to find jobs and all that now that soccer's coming to an end. I have a semester here then I hope to get an internship somewhere."
"Part of the core values of our program is a high academic standard and Megan has done such a great job and makes us so proud with the success she's had in the classroom," Saxton said. "We support her and she works very hard for us when she's in training and does a good job like great student-athletes do of handling the classroom and the field."
The high praise from her coach isn't unwarranted. After all, the team always comes first for Marsack. Instead of individual accomplishments, she just wants to win.
