Michigan State University
Detroit Mercy
Women's Soccer Routs Detroit, 3-0
9/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 12, 2007
Listen To Coach Saxton's Comments On The MSU Victory
Listen To Lauren
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Sophomore Lauren Hill scored two first-half goals and senior Maureen Pawlak scored in the second half to lead the Michigan State women's soccer team to a 3-0 win over Detroit on Wednesday afternoon at Old College Field. The Spartans are now 3-2 on the season, while Detroit falls to 0-4.
Both teams started slowly in the early minutes, but as the sun came out over Old College Field for the first time in the afternoon, the Spartan offense heated up. Sophomore midfielder Megan Brown set up Lauren Hill on the left wing in the 34th minute and Hill put it in the upper right corner of the goal to give MSU a 1-0 lead.
Hill struck again just 7:33 later, scoring on a header from the right corner at the 41:34 mark to extend the Spartan advantage to 2-0. Brown started the play, sending a long pass to Pawlak, who served a lob to Hill.
MSU controlled play in the first half to the tune of an 8-0 shot advantage in the first half. Despite the 2-0 halftime lead, the Spartans could have potentially had a few more goals.
"We had some near misses early," head coach Tom Saxton said. "Detroit made a couple of plays on defense, but we really could have put the match away in the first half.
Michigan State was faced with a big change in its defensive lineup, playing without starting goalkeeper Nicole Galas for the first time in three years. Sophomore Lindsey Wrege got the shutout in goal, playing behind a stingy MSU back line.
"We told the team before the game that we needed to step up and play our best game to date after a disappointing loss at Lehigh last Sunday," Saxton said. "And I really feel like we did. Our defense was very solid and very organized. We kept Detroit from threatening us at any point in the match.
MSU ended with a 14-2 advantage in shots. Wrege, making her second career appearance at Michigan State, had two saves in her first career victory in goal.
Pawlak rounded out the scoring in the 89th minute, stepping in front of a free kick off the foot of junior Michelle Telebar. Pawlak received the pass in front of the box, took one dribble and buried a shot into the net.
Detroit goalkeeper Katie Fortenberry had a busy night, stopping seven shots. She made a diving stop on a Pawlak attempt in the first half and had her hands on the ball throughout the match, as most of the contest was played in Detroit's defensive third of the field.
The match was televised by the Big Ten Network, marking the women's soccer team's second appearance on the network this season. MSU's contest versus Syracuse was also televised by the Big Ten Network.
Michigan State returns to action Wednesday, Sept. 19 at home against Eastern Michigan. The contest is set for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
