Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Heads to Michigan State
9/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 27, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern opens up its Big Ten docket at No. 22 Michigan State (5-2, 1-0) at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29. The Wildcats, who are off to their best start since 1998, are coming off of a 2-0 win against Northern Illinois. The Spartans dropped their last match, 6-1, in their Big Ten opener against No. 9 Indiana.
NU is riding some momentum from the NIU game. The Wildcats' youngsters showed continued improvement, highlighted by freshman Alexander Renzi's (Rochester Hills, Mich/Rochester Adams) goal and assist.
"I thought we played really well against Northern Illinois," said NU head coach Tim Lenahan. "We probably had our best half of soccer in the first half."
Northwestern will need more of the same against Michigan State, last year's conference runner-up. This season's Spartans are led by Brett Konley and Jordan Gruber. Konley has five goals and three assists, and Gruber has five goals and two assists. As a team, the Spartans have outscored their opponents 19-10.
Tyler Robinson is MSU's starting goalkeeper, with a 5-1 record. His only loss came at the hands of Indiana. Robinson has a 1.23 goals against average (GAA); he had a 0.85 GAA prior to the loss against IU.
J.D. Martin (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) continues to be the anchor in goal for the 'Cats. Thus far, Martin has a 1.27 GAA, 35 saves and three shutouts.
Northwestern is looking for its first regular season Big Ten win since Nov. 4, 1999, when it knocked off Michigan State, 1-0.
"All of the nonconference games prepare you for the Big Ten schedule," Lenahan said. "We know we have a tough test at hand. Michigan State is a veteran team who finished second in the Big Ten last season."
