Oct. 31, 2007

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Big Ten Tournament Television Schedule

Friday's semifinals will be played at noon and 2 p.m., and will be televised by the Big Ten Network. Saturday's championship game will be covered by CSTV and is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

In Brief

Michigan State enters the Big Ten tournament having won five straight games, including four conference games. The Spartans are now 15-4 on the season and 5-1 in Big Ten play, with their only conference loss coming at the hands of No. 6 Michigan, as the Spartans fell to the Wolverines, 2-1, on Oct. 5.

Michigan State meets Northwestern in the first round, the first meeting between the teams in the tournament since 1996.

Series History

The Spartans and the Wildcats have clashed 49 times since 1977, with Northwestern leading the series 33-16. MSU has controlled the series of late, winning six of the last seven meetings. Michigan State got the best of Northwestern earlier this season, defeating the Wildcats 4-0 in East Lansing.

MSU faces Northwestern for the third time in tournament history, with each meeting coming in the first round. The Wildcats lead the Big Ten tournament series 2-0, sending the Spartans home in both of the previous contests (1995,1996).

Scouting the Wildcats

Northwestern began the year winning three out of four games, but has dropped 11 of its last 12. Northwestern finished the regular season with a 4-13 record and was 0-6 in Big Ten play.

Northwestern is lead by junior Alex Quinn, who has carried the load for the offense this season. She is tied for first on the team with six goals, and ranks first with five assists for a total of 17 points, while playing in all 17 games.

The Wildcats have scored 24 goals in 17 games (1.41 goals per game), compared to 55 goals against (3.24 goals against average). Northwestern scored just four goals in six conference games in 2007.

Junior Emily Kyle has handled the bulk of the goalkeeping duties for the Wildcats this season. She has started 14 games, and has a record of 4-10 on the year. She has posted a 3.30 goals against average and a .662 save percentage.

Spartan Scouting Report

The Spartans finished the regular season ranked second in the nation in scoring, behind No. 1 North Carolina. MSU scored 81 goals in 19 games, averaging 4.26 goals per game. MSU finished second in the NCAA behind the Tar Heels in almost every major offensive category, including scoring average (4.21), scoring margin (3.07), assists per game (3.21) and points per game (11.74).

The MSU defense has been stellar on the year, recording four defensive saves, while recording a 1.14 goals against average. The Spartans have shut out their opponent eight times this season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Elissa Unger has recorded six shutouts, started all 19 games, and has posted a 1.25 goals against average and a .728 save percentage.

Manning Up

Senior Becky Manning returned from injury last weekend, helping defeat the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes, and adding a stellar performance against Kent State on Sunday. Manning recorded seven points on three goals and one assist against the Golden Flashes. She finished the season tied with teammate Jantine Steinmetz in goals (13), ranking ninth in the NCAA in goals per game (.81). Manning exploded on offense this season, more than doubling her six career goals in her first three seasons. She ranks second on the team in total points with 30 in 16 games, also doubling her prior three-year career total of 14. Despite missing time this season, Manning is tied for first in the Big Ten, and 19th in the NCAA, in points per game (1.88).

Senior Leadership

All four MSU seniors have had a career year in points, assists and goals. In addition to Manning, Kathryn Elenz-Martin recorded 19 points on eight goals and three assists. Amy Schneider has scored three goals while recording a team-high 12 assists on the year, for a total of 18 points. Schneider is tied for eighth in the NCAA in assists per game (.63) and sits tied for ninth in the MSU regular-season record books with 12 assists. Charolotte van der Laag finished second on the team with 10 assists, recording 20 points and adding five goals.

Ushering In A New Era

Two young players have jumped right in and made an immediate impact in their first year for the Spartans.

Freshman Jantine Steinmetz has recorded 13 goals on the season. Playing in 16 of 19 games, the forward from Amstelveen, Netherlands is averaging .81 goals per game, tying her with teammate Becky Manning for ninth in the nation in goals per game. Steinmetz is tied for third on the team with 27 points on the season.

Sophomore Jeamie Deacon, hailing from Wexford, Ireland, has led the offensive production for MSU in 2007, leading the team with 32 points on 12 goals and eight assists.

Sophomore Floor Rijpma is in her second year with the Spartans. In 2006 Rijpma had six goals and recorded three assists, totaling 15 points.

In 2007, she has improved in each category, posting 10 goals, seven assists, and 27 points on the season.

Bring Out The Awards

Three seperate players have received Big Ten Player of the Week accolades from the conference office. All three players took home the award more than once in 2007, for a team total of seven weekly honors for MSU.

Sophomore Jeamie Deacon was honored three times this season with Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accolades, the most ever in a single season for any Spartan.

Freshman Jantine Steinmetz earned two Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week awards. The first award followed a four-goal performance in a two-game span against Lindenwood and St. Louis. Her second came three weeks later, as she scored one goal against Central Michigan, then followed up with her first three-goal performance of her career in MSU's 8-0 rout of Davidson.

Senior midfielder Amy Schneider saved her best for last, picking up two consecutive Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week awards in the final two weeks of the regular season. Schneider helped the Spartans to two straight shutouts against Big Ten opponents Indiana and Iowa, and scored once in a 5-1 victory over Kent State.

The Big Stage

MSU has played seven games against ranked opponents in 2007, going 4-3 in those contests. Three of MSU's four losses have come to ranked opponents, falling to No. 3 Connecticut, No. 5 Wake Forest and No. 6 Michigan, with Connecticut and Michigan needing overtime to beat the Spartans.

Tight Squeeze

Three of the four losses on the season for the Spartans have been by a goal. Wake Forest was the only team to defeat the Spartans by a larger margin, blanking MSU 2-0 on Sept. 30.

Non-Conference Success

Over the past six seasons, MSU has record a 70-22 record against non-conference opponents. MSU has gone .500 or better in all six years: 18-1 in 2002, 12-3 in 2003, 13-3 in 2004, 10-4 in 2005, 7-7 in 2006, and 10-3 in 2007.

Shut `Em Out

Michigan State's defense has shut out eight of its opponents this season. The total ranks second all-time in MSU history, with the record of 10 being set in 2002. The Spartans had back-to-back shutouts four different times this season, the most ever in a` single-season since the 1975 team that recorded eight straight shutouts to start the year.

Defense Wins Championships

MSU has held its opponent to a goal or less in 14 of 19 games this season, and only gave up more than two goals in a game once. The Spartans gave up three goals to No. 3 Connecticut in a 4-3 OT loss in mid-September.

The 1977 team was the only other team in school history to hold all but one opponent to two or fewer goals. That year, the Spartans fell to Purdue, 6-0, on Oct. 21, 1977.

Multiplicity

The Spartans have 13 multiple-goal efforts this season. Jantine Steinmetz has the most, recording four. She scored twice in a game three times, and three goals once. Senior Becky Manning had two three-goal games on the year, while Jeamie Deacon has twice posted two-goal efforts. Senior Kathryn Elenz-Martin scored two goals on three different occassions for MSU. Gwen Riley and Floor Rijpma each recorded one.

Sharing the Wealth

MSU had seven multiple-assist performances this season. Amy Schneider recorded two assists on two seperate occasions, and passed out three assists against St. Louis. Charolotte van der Laag has recorded two-assist games twice on the year, and Becky Manning and Jeamie Deacon have done it once. Against St. Louis on Sept. 9, MSU had three players recording multiple-assists: Schneider finished with three and Manning and van der Laag with two.

Steep Competition

In this week's poll, four Big Ten teams are ranked within the top-10. Michigan, Iowa, and Michigan State occupy the 5-7 spots, respectively, with Penn State at No. 9. All four teams have been in the top-10 in the weekly poll since Sept. 25.

Streaky

MSU had three multiple-game winning streaks this season, including a six-game streak to start the season, a three-game stretch in the middle, and a five-game streak to end the regular-season. Michigan State's only back-to-back losses came Nov. 30 against No. 5 Wake Forest, and Oct. 5 versus No. 6 Michigan.

For All The Money

No. 7 Michigan State met No. 4 Iowa last Saturday in Iowa City for the final conference game of the year. Both teams, held a record of 4-1 in conference play, with both teams losing to Michigan by one goal. With the second seed in the Big Ten tournament on the line for both teams, Michigan State came out victorious, blanking the Hawkeyes, 1-0.

Big Ten Tournament History

MSU is the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for just the second time in school history, and the first time since 2004.

Last year Michigan State made a strong run in the Big Ten Tournament after finishing the season 1-5 in the Big Ten conference. MSU took down Indiana in the first round 3-1, and dropped a heartbreaker in overtime to Penn State in the semifinals. Becky Manning and Gwen Riley were the only two remaining players from to score goals in last years tournament, each scoring a goal against Indiana.

Michigan State is 9-12 overall in Big Ten Tournament history. MSU recorded back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003. It has reached the semifinals five times and in four of the last five seasons, including last year when it lost to Penn State, 2-1 in overtime.

MSU has been ousted in the first round of the Big Ten tournament eight times in the past 12 years. The Spartans have lost in the semifinals three times (1997, 2004, 2006). Michigan State was crowned champion in back-to-back years, in 2002 and 2003.

Against The Field

Over the last six seasons, MSU has a winning record against five of the six teams in the Big Ten tournament. The exception is Michigan, which has won six of eight meetings. MSU is 30-11 against the rest of the field over that time span, and is 6-3 in the past five years of the tournament.

Bring Back The Magic

The last time Ohio State hosted the Big Ten tournament 2002, Michigan State took home the Big Ten title. The Spartans scored three goals in each game against Indiana, Penn State and Michigan to win the title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State recorded its best season in school history in 2002, going 23-3 overall and advancing to the NCAA Final Four. No. 2 Wake Forest defeated the Spartans in the national semifinals, ending Michigan State's magical season. Wake Forest went on to win the NCAA championship that year, as it shut out Penn State, 2-0.

Senior All-Star Game

Seniors Becky Manning and Amy Schneider have been selected to participate in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Senior All-Star Game on Nov. 19 in College Park, Md.

Up Next

Michigan State awaits a bid to the NCAA tournament, with first-round action starting Nov. 10. The tournament will conclude at the University of Maryland with the semifinals and finals on Nov. 17-18.

The NCAA selection show is Tuesday, Nov 6, at 8 p.m. on CSTV.