Sept. 11, 2013

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women’s soccer team looks to take flight in a pair of games over the weekend against the Falcons of Bowling Green and the Eagles of Eastern Michigan. With the Spartan offense still looking to find their wings, MSU hopes continued strength from the back line will support the squad.

Rolling Over Bowling Green
The Spartans start the weekend off with a home game against BGSU on Friday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. The Falcons head to East Lansing coming off three consecutive losses with the last coming from IUPUI. Bowling Green is 0-3-0 on the season under first-year head coach Lindsay Basalyga.

The Last Meeting Michigan State 4 Bowling Green 0 August 17, 2012 Bowling Green, Ohio Spartan Youngsters Shine in Opening Victory The Michigan State women's soccer team posted a commanding 4-0 victory at Bowling Green on Friday evening in the season opener for both teams. Sophomore keeper Courtney Clem had her first shutout of the season, and classmates Megan Marsack and Lisa Vogel combined for three of the four Spartan goals. Senior Olivia Stander finished with a pair of assists in the contest. Recap | Box Score

The Last Meeting Eastern Michigan 0 Michigan State 2 September 9, 2012 East Lansing, Mich. Spartans Down Eastern Michigan, 2-0 Michigan State defeated Eastern Michigan 2-0 Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium to improve their record to 5-1-1 on the season. Senior Forward Olivia Stander led the Spartans with both a goal and an assist on the day. Recap | Box Score

BGSU returned 11 letterwinners including 8 starters for the 2013 season including junior Ashley Garr, who leads the team with one goal alongside freshman Haley Malaczewski. They are assisted by Alyssa Carmack and Madeline Wideman. In goal, reshirt freshman Lauren Cadel has 28 saves on the season with a .848 saves percentage and 1.62 GAA.

Eagle-eye View of Eastern Michigan
Michigan State continues their weekend slate by traveling to Eastern Michigan for a match on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. The Eagles are 1-3-1 on the season, coming off of a 1-1 tie against Butler. Eastern is led by senior midfielder Cara Cutaia, who has three goals and an assist on the season. Three Eagles have one goal each. Megan McCabe stands in net and owns 29 saves with a .784 save percentage and 1.48 GAA.

Taking Sides
A collective effort has been a focus for the team this year, starting back when 28 members of the team participated in an exhibition against Central Michigan and 27 different players seeing action in regular-season play so far.

Courtney Clem returns in goal for 2013. Clem has already accumulated 23 saves and one shutout on the season, owning a .87 GAA and .821 Sv%. Gabrielle Gauruder stepped up in the net last weekend to finish a shutout over New Mexico. She totaled five saves in 64 minutes with no goals allowed. Lone senior Kelsey Mullen heads up the defense with Nicole Caruso and Mary Kathryn Fiebernitz. Both Caruso and Fiebernitz have already recorded an assist. The back line looks to remain organized in play and has held their opponents to only five goals in six games.

Sophomore Allyson Krause heads up the offense as she the team's leading scorer. She leads the team with five points from two goals and one assist. Jessica White is the team’s only other multiple goal scorer with two and is tied with Rachel Van Poppelen for points with four. Van Poppelen earned a goal and two assists in the game against Milwaukee. Four members of the squad total one goal and one assist each.

Heading it Up
Tom Saxton returns in 2013 as head coach for the 23rd year. A life-long Spartan, Saxton has spent more than half of his life involved with MSU soccer, earning three letters as a player before returning to campus in 1986 to assist legendary Spartan soccer coach Joe Baum with both the men's and the new women's program. Saxton was appointed the second head coach in the history of the women's program on June 1, 1991. Saxton's current career record stands at 225-178-43. Associate head coach Tammy Farnum returns to Spartan soccer for the 17th year as another former player who helped guide the Spartans to their first NCAA appearance in school history in 2002 and was instrumental in helping MSU get back to the tournament in 2005 and 2008. Rounding out the coaching staff are assistant coach Stacy Heller, working with the Spartan goalkeepers, and first-year volunteer coach and former player Laura Heyboer.

Stay Tuned
Spartan soccer can be followed live online with GameTracker on MSUSpartans.com, on the official mobile app of the MSU Spartans or on Twitter @MSU_wsoccer.

Next Up
The 2013 season will continue when MSU takes on its first Big Ten opponent of the season at Nebraska on Sept. 19 at 3 p.m.