EAST LANSING -- No form of extreme weather is expected to stop Michigan State University from hosting Saturday one of the biggest men's soccer games in school history.

MSU athletic officials, turf and facilities experts, and a crew of volunteers intend to shovel and scrape their way to the frozen finish line.

Extra muscle and ingenuity is needed to prepare DeMartin Stadium's natural grass field for Saturday's 5 p.m. NCAA tournament matchup against James Madison.

“It’s kind of an adjustment people have to deal with," said Kara Fisher, an MSU athletics spokesperson, of the fast-paced fieldwork. "I think everything will be business as usual the day of the game."

The winner of Saturday's game advances to the College Cup, the NCAA tournament's Final Four, to be held Dec. 7 in Santa Barbara, California.

Amy Fouty, MSU's athletic turf manager, her staff, and volunteers removed snow and ice from the field Tuesday morning and placed a tarp on it that afternoon to protect it.

The tarp was borrowed from Spartan Stadium and could stay on the field until game time.

“The fall of 2018 has presented us with many weather-related challenges; this week is no exception," Fouty said in a statement emailed to the State Journal. "Every effort is being made to prepare DeMartin Stadium for Saturday’s match."

The Spartans are 13-4-4 this season and haven't won an NCAA championship since 1968. MSU shared the title that season with Maryland and has also advanced to the tournament's Elite Eight in 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Players may spend their practice time before Saturday's game indoors at the Duffy Daugherty Building, where the football team practices, Fisher said.

Saturday's game day forecast in East Lansing, according to the National Weather Service, calls for rain throughout the day and temperatures in the low 40s.

Heather Orow, an NWS meteorologist in Grand Rapids, said Tuesday afternoon the chances of rain Saturday are "100 percent."

Ticket/TV availability

The first 200 MSU students to show up at Saturday's game will get free admission. Students must present a valid ID. Gates at the stadium will open at 4 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online at msuspartans.com and are $5 for college students, $7 for youth 18-and-under, $7 for seniors 55-and-over and $10 for adults.

For more ticket information, visit bit.ly/2P6SMb5 or call 1-800-467-8283.

Saturday's game won't be televised, but will be available live on the Big Ten Network's BTN2GO mobile app.

Pairing up

Two local fan groups are expected to join forces for Saturday's game and try to give MSU a home-field edge: the Red Cedar Rowdies and The Assembly Line.

The Rowdies are a student-led group that attend MSU home games.

The Assembly Line is a new group created this month to support Lansing Ignite, a new professional men's soccer team to start play in downtown Lansing in spring 2019.

"We're all about supporting our club and our city," said Eric Gibbs, an Assembly Line co-founder. "Michigan State is an extension of our home."

Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.

RELATED:5 things to know about Michigan State men's soccer as it prepares for Elite Eight match