Michigan
Michigan State
First Touch #9: U-M Set for Saturday Road Battle vs. MSU
10/11/2017 2:59:00 PM | Women's Soccer
» Michigan wraps up a three-game road trip with an in-state rivalry match at Michigan State on Saturday (Oct. 14) at 6 p.m.
» The Wolverines are 12-6-7 all-time against the Spartans, including a 4-1 mark over the last five meetings.
» Michigan came in at No. 30 in this week's NCAA RPI and is ranked fourth in the nation in strength of schedule according to HERO Sports. Â
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Oct. 14 – at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 6 p.m., BTN Plus
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The University of Michigan women's soccer team (5-4-6, 2-3-3 B1G) will wrap up a three-game road trip against in-state rival Michigan State (5-10-0, 1-7-0 B1G) on Saturday (Oct. 14) at 6 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium. The match will be streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required).
WOLVERINE BITES
• After playing four two-match weekends in a row, Michigan has just one match this weekend for the first time since Sept. 10.
• Michigan is currently tied for eighth place in the Big Ten standings with nine points along with Nebraska and Iowa. The Wolverines earned draws against Nebraska and Iowa when they met earlier in the regular season. Ohio State leads the conference with 18 points. This weekend's opponent, Michigan State, sits last in the Big Ten standings with three points.
• U-M came in at No. 30 in this week's NCAA Women's Soccer RPI. Through 15 games, the Wolverines have faced 10 teams currently in the top 50 in RPI -- No. 1 South Carolina, No. 14 Penn State, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 23 Wisconsin, No. 24 Wake Forest, No. 31 Santa Clara, No. 33 Minnesota, No. 34 Washington and No. 48 Purdue. This week's opponent, Michigan State, sits at No. 101. According to HERO Sports, Michigan ranks fourth in the nation in strength of schedule.
• Two Wolverines, freshman Alia Martin and junior Abby Kastroll, returned to the Michigan lineup in its two matches last weekend after missing several games due to injury. The Penn State match on Oct. 6 marked Martin's first game since Sept. 10, and Kastroll's first since Sept. 3. It was the first Big Ten game for both players.
• Through 15 games, 10 different players have tallied points for Michigan, led by junior Reilly Martin's 13 (four goals, five assists). Freshman Sarah Stratigakis has 11 points on three goals and five assists. Senior/junior Taylor Timko (4g, 2a) snapped a nine-game streak without a point, scoring U-M's goal against Nebraska (Oct. 1).
• Michigan has allowed 15 goals through 15 games this season, for an average of one goal per game. The Wolverines have recorded four shutouts and held seven opponents to just one goal. U-M has not given up more than two goals in a match this season. The last time U-M gave up three goals was Oct. 6, 2016, at Illinois.
• Senior goalkeeper Sarah Jackson leads the Big Ten in saves per game, averaging 6.2 per outing, and is also third in the conference in save percentage at .862. In 825 minutes of action, Jackson has allowed nine goals, made 56 saves and contributed to two shutouts en route to a 1-2-4 record this season.
• Michigan has gone to overtime in seven matches this season, going 1-0-6 in those outings. In total, the Maize and Blue has played an additional 126 minutes of soccer this season, a total of nearly an extra match and a half. U-M has already tied a program record for most overtime matches in the regular season with seven (2003, 2006), while its six draws match a program record (2003, 2006, 2007).
• Michigan has just one regular-season home game remaining, Oct. 21 (senior day) at 7:30 p.m. when the Wolverines host Illinois.
OPPONENT PREVIEWS
Scouting Michigan State
Michigan State, which is led by 27th-year head coach Tom Saxton, will enter Saturday's match with an overall record of 5-10-0, including a 1-7-0 Big Ten mark, which puts MSU in last place in the conference standings. The Spartans lone Big Ten win came against Iowa (3-2) on Oct. 1. Overall, MSU has given up 38 goals in 15 matches (2.53 goals/game) while scoring 16 of its own. Senior Jamie Cheslik leads the Spartans with 15 points (six goals, three assists). Freshman Danielle Stephan is tied for third in the Big Ten with six assists. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Reilley Ott has played the majority of minutes in goal for Michigan State this season, recording all but one of MSU's decisions (5-9-0) and has a goals against average of 2.13.
Series vs. Michigan State: Michigan is 12-6-7 all-time against the Spartans, including a 4-1 record in the last five meetings. In last year's matchup, U-M defeated MSU, 1-0, in Ann Arbor on a goal from Ani Sarkisian in the 77th minute. That win came in front of a crowd of 2,312, which ranks third all-time in U-M Soccer Stadium history. Eleven games in the all-time series have been decided by one goal, with Michigan winning seven of those matches. The two teams have gone to overtime in 10 of the 25 total meetings -- Michigan owns a 3-1-6 mark in overtime games against the Spartans.
UP NEXT
Saturday, Oct. 21 -- Illinois (U-M Soccer Stadium), 7:30 p.m.
