Rick Smith Named Big Ten Soccer Player of the Week

6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

September 8, 1998

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State sophomore midfielder Rick Smith (Tecumseh) has been named the Big Ten Conference's Soccer Player of the Week following his efforts this past weekend in helping the Spartans to a championship in the MSU/Quality Suites Soccer Classic

The 5-foot-8 Smith scored the team's first marker in a 3-1 opening-round win over Northwestern on Saturday before picking up a goal against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Sunday. His tally against UW-Green Bay came at the 83:26 mark and tied the game at 1-1, setting the stage for senior James Whitmore winning goal three minutes later.

After three games, Smith leads the team in points with four on two goals.

The Michigan State men's team stands 2-1 through three games and will play at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday (Sept. 9) starting at 5:00 p.m. before returning home to battle Cincinnati on Sunday (Sept. 13) starting at 1:00 p.m.