Spartan Sports Roundup
8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
Aug. 26, 2008
EAST LANSING, MICH. - Spartan Sports Roundup provides a brief overview of the Olympic sports teams in action. Read a recap of last week's action, look ahead to this week's action and find key notes on each team in this weekly recap.
 | Men's Soccer |
Roster | Schedule
Big Ten Schedule
Last Week: The MSU men's soccer team fell to Louisville, 2-1, in an exhibition game Saturday (Aug. 23) night. Senior Doug DeMartin (Mason, Mich.) scored for the Spartans.
This Week: The Spartans host the MSU/Radisson Soccer Classic at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field this weekend. Friday's action will begin with Western Michigan taking on Vermont at 2:30 p.m. and MSU hosting St. Francis (PA) at 5 p.m. On Sunday, Western Michigan will play St. Francis (PA) at 11 a.m. while MSU and Vermont wrap up the weekend action at 1:30 p.m.
Notes: MSU went 11-6-4 in 2007 and returns nine players with extensive college experience and is coming off its eighth consecutive winning season as well as a trip to the NCAA Tournament...2008 will be Joe Baum's 32nd and final season as head coach, as he will retire at the end of the year. Associate head coach Damon Rensing will take over as head coach on January 1, 2009...Senior All-Big Ten forward Doug DeMartin led the Big Ten in goals in 2007 with 12 and compiled 24 points...Senior Louis Stevens III (Saginaw, Mich.) was third on the team in points with seven.
| Women's Soccer |
Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Big Ten Schedule
Last Week: The Spartans (1-0) kicked off the 2008 season with a 5-1 road victory over Oakland last Friday. Freshman Laura Heyboer (Hudsonville, Mich.) earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors with a four-point collegiate debut. Heyboer assisted on the first goal of the game and then scored three consecutive goals in the second half. Heyboer is this year's first recipient of the Big Ten Player of the Week award. The game served as a fundraiser for five-year-old Adalin Farnum, the oldest daughter of MSU associate head coach Tammy Farnum, who is suffering from a rare form of cancer. Nearly $4,500 was raised on the Farnum's behalf.
This Week: MSU hits the road for two games this weekend as it takes on DePaul on Friday at 4 p.m. and Bowling Green Sunday at 1 p.m.
Notes: Michigan State started the 2007 season 5-2-1 before suffering several injuries to key players and finished the season 7-10-2...Seven starters and 19 letterwinners return from last year's team...MSU's 10-player recruiting class ranked 19th nationally by Soccer Buzz...Junior Lauren Hill (Northville, Mich.) was MSU's leading scorer (8G, 2A) in 2007...Sophomore Cara Freeman (New Lenox, Ill.) was third on the team in points (2G, 5A)...This year's schedule includes five teams that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament...The team's first game in the new DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field will be Friday, Sept. 5 vs. Eastern Michigan at 4 p.m.
| Field Hockey |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The Spartans opened the season with an exhibition game against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday. After three 20-minute periods, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Senior Michelle Ciliberti (Louisville, Ky.) and freshman Libby Liesveld (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) recorded goals for MSU, and junior Elissa Unger (Reading, Pa.) was in goal.
This Week: MSU opens the regular season on Saturday with a game against Delaware at 2 p.m. in the Champions Invitational Tournament, hosted by the University of Louisville. The Spartans will face Louisville or Duke on Sunday.
Notes: The Spartans finished the 2007 season with an overall record of 16-6 and were 5-1 in the Big Ten...MSU returns 12 letterwinners from last season's squad...MSU fell to Iowa, 3-2 in overtime, at the Big Ten Tournament...The Spartans fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Wake Forest, 3-2...Junior Jeamie Deacon (Wexford, Ireland) was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA 2008 Academic All-District Women's At-Large First Team...Deacon and Floor Rijpma (Bunnik, The Netherlands) earned NFCHA All-America Honors...The Spartans return their top three scorers from 2007 - Deacon recorded 12 goals and eight assists for 32 points, Rijpma tallied 12 goals and seven assists for 31 points, and Jantine Steinmetz (Amstelveen, Netherlands) led the team with 15 goals.
| Cross Country |
Roster | Schedule
This Week: The Spartans' first meet of the season will be the Jeff Drenth Memorial 5K in Mt. Pleasant on Friday (Aug. 29).
Notes: The women's cross country team finished fifth at the 2007 NCAA Championships, its best finish since placing fourth in 1981...It was the team's ninth consecutive NCAA appearance...Senior Nicole Bush (Wyoming, Mich.) was the Spartans top finisher at the 2007 NCAAs, placing fifth. This summer, Bush missed qualifying for the Olympics by one spot, finishing the 3000m steeplechase with a personal best time of 9:40.27...Lisa Senakiewich (Davison, Mich.) recorded two third-place finishes...For the men, junior Max Goldak (Chesterton, Ind.) recorded two top-10 finishes in 2007 and sophomore Patrick Grosskopf (Corunna, Mich.) posted two top-five finishes...MSU's only home meet of the fall, the Spartan Invitational, will be Friday (Sept. 12) at Forest Akers East.
Players Mentioned
