MSU Women's Soccer Hosts Detroit Mercy on Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's soccer returns home to the friendly confines of DeMartin Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 8 in a double-header with the men's soccer team. The women will play at 12 p.m. against Detroit Mercy, with the men then hosting Cornell at 3 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Spartans fell to Butler, 3-0, on the road on Thursday night under the lights at the Sellick Bowl.

This was the first time this season that the Spartans were shutout as the team has scored 12 goals through the first four games.

In the 64th minute, junior midfielder Danielle Stephan fired a shot off the corner, giving her a scoring opportunity with the goalkeeper out of position, but her shot was blocked by the Butler defense.

Kozal had a season-high five saves versus the Bulldogs, with three in the first half. Senior goalkeeper Reilley Ott saw her first action in net this season, subbing in for Kozal in the 73rd minute of play. Ott had her first save of the season in the last minute of action.

WAHLBERG CONTINUES TO SHINE
Gia Wahlberg continues to shine on the Spartan offense, scoring the game winning goal in double OT to secure the win for Michigan State over Boston University. Her second game winning goal and first overtime goal comes the week after being named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Aug. 25, following a record-setting outing where she scored four goals in the first-half against Marshall.

Her four goals set a record for the most goals in a first-half at DeMartin Stadium, while the five total Spartan goals ties a record for most goals in a game and the most goals scored at DeMartin Stadium. The forward also tied the Big Ten record for most goals in a game, which only 12 other Big Ten players have achieved, including former Spartan Lauren Hill.

Overall, she leads the team with 10 points, 12 shots on goal and two game winning goals this sesaon.

MICHIGAN STATE NOTES
The Spartans have had seven different goal scorers through the first five matches, with Camryn Evans, Danielle Stephan, Bella Jodzis, Michaela Kovacs, Sydney Kloosterman, Gia Wahlberg and Paige Webber all tallying goals on the score-sheet. The seven goal scorers tops last season's numbers, with there only being six goal scorers through all 18 games in 2018.

This is the second consecutive season that the Spartans have begun the season an undefeated 3-0-0 at home. Last season, the team began the 2018 season with a 4-0-0 record, before falling to No. 23 Colorado on Sept. 9.

The Spartans double overtime win over Boston University was the team's first overtime game this season and the first overtime win since the 2016 season when MSU defeated Purdue, 2-1, on Oct. 26, 2016. It also marked the first Spartan double overtime victory since the team defeated Maryland, 3-2, on Sept. 29, 2016.

MSU leads opponents in shots on goal (36-24), shots per game (14.6-10.8), corners (25-15) and total goals (12-6) through five games.

Junior midfielder Danielle Stephan has led the Spartans in assists for the past two seasons, tallying six in 2017 and four last season. Through five games, Stephan leads the team with four assists and notched two helpers in the team's double OT victory at Boston University.

FRESHMAN RETURNS FROM U.S. U-20 WNT TRAINING CAMP
Freshman defender Bria Schrotenboer returns to the Spartans after spending a week in Chula Vista, California training with the U.S. Under-20 National Team. The Holland, Michigan, native, was one of twenty players selected to attend the training camp.

Schrotenboer was one of two freshman Spartans to start in the season-opener vs. Utah Valley and played all 90 minutes on the backline.

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

SCOUTING THE TITANS
Michigan State owns a 16-1-1 all-time record over Detroit Mercy and are unbeaten at DeMartin Stadium with a 12-0-1 mark. In the last meeting between the two schools, MSU shutout Detroit, 2-0, at home on Sept. 11, 2016.

The Titans have a 1-2-1 record through the first four games. Detroit Mercy won their first match of the season at Madonna University on Sept. 4, which was the first win for first-year head coach Steve Shelton.

Sophomore Julie Ann Piechocki converted on a penalty kick early in the second half for the lone goal of the game.

The Titans have been shutout two times this season, against Eastern Michigan, 1-0, and Northern Arizona, 4-0.

SAXTON SAYS
"(This game is) absolutely critical. There's going to be ups and downs in the season, but good teams respond to setbacks with their best performance and that's what we expect on Sunday - That's what we said as we walked out."

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Players Mentioned

Camryn Evans

Bella Jodzis

Sydney Kloosterman

Michaela Kovacs

Reilley Ott

Bria Schrotenboer

Danielle Stephan

Gia Wahlberg

Paige Webber