Women's Soccer Closes Out Last Regular Season Road Trip at Illinois

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's soccer takes to the road for the last time during the regular season, completing the road trip against the Fighting Illini on Sunday afternoon. The team will close out its road schedule at Illinois on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. ET.

The game will be streamed online on BTN+.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State women's soccer fell in a tough battle with Northwestern, 2-1, on the road on Friday night. MSU fell to 8-5-1 on the season and a 1-4-1 mark in conference play.

The Spartans got on the board early in the first half, with junior midfielder Danielle Stephan finding the foot of freshman forward Paige Webber in the ninth minute. Stephan was able to free the ball and pass it up field to a waiting Webber, who snuck the ball past the Northwestern goalkeeper.

This was Webber's fifth goal of the season, while Stephan tallied her sixth assist.

DOWN THE STRETCH
Michigan State looks to close out the away portion of its schedule on a positive note, before ending the regular season with a four-game homestand. The Spartans will play in-state rival Michigan in a doubleheader with the men's team on Saturday, Oct. 19 to begin the homestand. MSU will then host Maryland and No. 21 Rutgers at home on Oct. 24 and 27, respectively.

Michigan State will close the season against Indiana at home on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in the regular season finale for both teams. The two teams were originally scheduled to play on Sept. 27, but inclement weather caused the game to be postponed.

DEFENDING DEMARTIN
MSU boasts a home record of 6-1-0 this season, which marks the most wins at home since 2012 when the team had seven home wins.

The Spartans have recorded three shutouts in East Lansing. The three clean sheets at home are the most since the 2015 season when the team also shut out three opponents.

SPARTANS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Gia Wahlberg, Camryn Evans and Danielle Stephan are both ranked nationally in total goals and total assists, respectively.

With her eight goals this season, Wahlberg is tied for first in the Big Ten and is tied for 19th nationally in total goals scored.

Wahlberg has scored the most goals by a Spartan in a single-season since Laura Heyboer scored 18 goals during the 2011 season. The forward is also tied for third nationally with four-game winning goals.

Stephan has a team-high six assists in the first 14 games, which is good for third in the Big Ten. Stephan lead the Spartans in assists for three consecutive seasons, tallying six in 2017 and four last season.

FRESHMEN IN THE LINEUP
True freshmen Paige Webber and Bria Schrotenboer have earned starting positions in the Spartan lineup this season.

Webber is the only freshman to start in all 14 games this season and has 12 points with five goals and two assists to begin her rookie campaign.

Schrotenboer has started in 11 games on the Spartan backline this season. The freshman missed three games at the beginning of the season to train with the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team in California.

SCOUTING THE ILLINI
Illinois leads the series with the Michigan State 19-3-2. The most recent matchup between the two programs resulted in a Fighting Illini win, 1-0, in Champaign. The Spartans are looking for their first win over the Fighting Illini since 2002.

Illinois has an overall record of 7-6 and a conference record of 1-5. The team is searching for their first win in four matches. Last time out, the Illini fell to Michigan, 4-1, at home on Friday, Oct. 11.

Illinois is led by junior midfielder Hope Breslin, who leads the team with 12 points, with four goals and four assists. She has four of the teams 12 total goals.

MICHIGAN STATE NOTES
The Spartans have had seven different goal scorers through the first 14 matches. The seven goal scorers tops last season's numbers, with there only being six goal scorers through all 18 games in 2018.

After not recording an overtime win in the past two seasons, MSU has two overtime wins in the first 13 games. Michigan State is 2-0-1 in overtime games this season.

Through 14 games, the Spartans have 24 total goals, which ranks third in the Big Ten. The 24 goals ties the most in a season since 2014 when the team also scored 24 total goals.

DONNING THE 'C'
Seniors Michaela Kovacs and Sadie Misiewicz have been named the two captains for the 2019 season. Kovacs' is a three-year captain for Michigan State.

PRESEASON HONORS
Sophomore forward Camryn Evans, senior defender Michaela Kovacs and freshman defender Bria Schrotenboer were selected to the Big Ten Women's Soccer Preseason Honors List.

SAXTON SAYS

"I think we need to get back on the attack in general; not be defensive and get back on an aggressive attack. Those opportunities are going to go in at some point, given the law of averages, so our job is to put ourselves in that position again to create those chances - that's with attitude and effort and positive play; that's what we'll try to do."

Women's Soccer Closes Out Last Regular Season Road Trip at Illinois

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Players Mentioned

Camryn Evans

Michaela Kovacs

Sadie Misiewicz

Bria Schrotenboer

Danielle Stephan

Gia Wahlberg

Paige Webber