Women's Soccer to Host Eastern Michigan Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's soccer team returns to DeMartin Stadium this Sunday, Aug. 22 when they host Eastern Michigan for a 1 p.m. match.

LAST TIME OUT
The Spartans began the Jeff Hosler era with a bang on Thursday night when they shut out Detroit Mercy 4-0 at home. Scoring twice in the first half and two more times in the second, MSU was hot on offense throughout the 90 minutes.

Two fall 2021 transfers shone for Michigan State in the first half as Ava Cook started out scoring with a goal past Detroit Mercy's defender off an initially blocked shot. Fifteen minutes later, Justina Gaynor took over as she sent one past the goalkeeper's head into the left corner.

Ten minutes into the second frame, Jordyn Wickes made her presence known on the field with a battle against the Titans goalkeeper 10 yards out, in which she won the ball for a solo goal. The 4-0 victory was capped off when Zivana Labovic was set up with a clean cross kick by Danielle Stephan for the goal.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
The Spartans are 13-1-3 all-time against Eastern Michigan with a 9-1 record on their home field. A five-game win streak against the Eagles was capped off on Aug. 28, 2019 with a 2-0 shutout win at DeMartin Stadium. MSU has outscored their in-state opponent 38-8 since 1996.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Camryn Evans, Lauren Kozal and Samantha White were each selected to the Big Ten's Preseason Players to Watch List on Monday, August 16.

Evans is expected to make an impact on the field again this season after wrapping up her third season as a starting forward for the Spartans in the spring of 2021. She led the team in assists in 2019 and was the leading scorer her sophomore year.

Kozal has been a dominant force in goal for the Spartans the past two seasons. In the spring, she totaled 54 saves for a save percentage of .704.

White returns after totaling 1,061 minutes of defense for MSU in 2020-21. She has started every game of the past three seasons and is expected to be an important part of the backfield again this fall.

QUOTING COACH HOSLER
On scouting Eastern Michigan: "[They are] always a well-coached side that plays hard. They will be up to the physical demands of the game and be well organized."

On the strengths and improvements he hopes for the team: "For an entirely new system, I think our team executed for long stretches of time and dominated the ball. Anytime you can bag four goals you are having a good night, and we'll look to carry that confidence in execution over to Sunday … We need to execute better on set pieces and capitalize on those opportunities. We could also generate more quality changes if we eliminate some of the careless moments."

HITTING THE ROAD
Following tomorrow's game, MSU heads north for its first away game of the season. They take on Central Michigan on Thursday, Aug. 26. The match is set to begin under the lights in Mount Pleasant at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Ava Cook

Camryn Evans

Justina Gaynor

Lauren Kozal

Zivana Labovic

Danielle Stephan

Samantha White

Jordyn Wickes