Michigan State University
3-0-0, 0-0-0
Northern Colorado
0-3-0, 0-0-0
Wickes’ Hat Trick Powers Michigan State in Rout of Northern Colorado
8/25/2023 12:10:00 AM | Women's Soccer
GREELEY, Colo. - Behind a dominating offensive performance, No. 14 Michigan State women's soccer downed Northern Colorado, 7-0, in its road opener Thursday night at UNC's Jackson Stadium.
MSU moves to 3-0-0 with the win, matching its best start since 2021, while UNC dropped to 0-3-0. The Spartans' seven goals marked their best offensive outing since a 7-0 win over Central Michigan on Aug. 25, 2022.
Four different Spartans scored goals Thursday night, highlighted by junior Jordyn Wickes' hat trick in the second half and senior forward Ranya Senhaji's brace in the 20th minute. Wickes' hat trick is the first for MSU since Lauren DeBeau on Sept. 18, 2022. With her three goals in an elapsed time of 7:19, she also breaks DeBeau's record (11:02) of fastest-recorded hat trick by nearly four minutes.
MSU recorded 21 shots, including 12 on goal, and held the Bears to only one shot for the duration of the game. The Spartans also held a 5-0 corner kick advantage. All three Spartan netminders – Kaitlyn Parks, Ellie Thallman and Belle Okoroafo - spent time in goal Thursday night, with Parks earning the win for her third of the season.
The Spartans began the offensive attack early, recording a quartet of shots in the opening minutes and forcing a pair of Bear saves. MSU broke open the scoring in the 20th minute after Senhaji scored her first goal of the evening on passes from senior midfielders Justina Gaynor and Gabby Mueller. Less than a minute later, sophomore midfielder Emerson Sargeant sent a pass to Senhaji to seal the brace. Senhaji's two-goal evening marked her best offensive performance in the Green & White.
The Spartan attack proved to be too much for Bears in the following minutes, as Sargeant made increased the MSU lead to 3-0 after scoring a goal of her own to total a three-point day in the 23rd minute.
The Spartans continued to maintain their offensive pressure throughout the first half, forcing a pair of UNC saves in the final 10 minutes. Senior Zivana Labovic headed in a corner kick from freshman Bella Najera in the 39th minute to give MSU a 4-0 lead headed to the break.
Najera registered shots in the 52nd and 56th minutes for the only offensive action in the opening minutes of the second half. Wickes checked in for the first time in the game at the 68-minute mark and quickly found the back of the net in the 72nd minute, scoring on her own blocked shot in front of the net for her first score of the night. She followed in the 73rd minute, sending in a pass from Renee Watson, before scoring another solo goal in the 78th minute to cap off the hat trick and Spartan scoring.
UNC's only shot came in the 83rd minute. UNC goalkeeper Kaya Lindberg was credited with the loss in 75 minutes of play.
"It feels amazing. It's a really successful night for the team," said Wickes. "I had a little bit of a rough start there, those first two games, so to be able to come out and capitalize, get my first goal of the season and then follow it up with two more, it's a really amazing feeling. I think it speaks more to the team's talent. All of those goals came from really impressive crosses and assists for my team. I'm happy."
"I think it was a really complete performance on both sides of the ball," Head Coach Jeff Hosler added. "This was a boost for us and gives us a chance to be psychically prepared for Sunday against a really good (University of) Colorado team."
The Spartans stay on the road to face Colorado on Sunday, Aug. 27 in Boulder, Colorado at 2 p.m. ET/noon MT. The game will broadcast on Pac-12 Network.
Team Stats
Ranya Senhaji (2)
Assisted By: Justina Gaynor , Gabby Mueller
GOAL by MSU Senhaji, Ranya Assist by Gaynor, Justina and Mueller, Gabby.
19:07
Ranya Senhaji (2)
Assisted By: Emerson Sargeant
GOAL by MSU Senhaji, Ranya Assist by Sargeant, Emerson.
19:50
Emerson Sargeant (1)
GOAL by MSU Sargeant, Emerson.
22:21
Zivana Labovic (2)
Assisted By: Bella Najera
GOAL by MSU Labovic, Zivana Assist by Najera, Bella.
38:52
Jordyn Wickes (3)
GOAL by MSU Wickes, Jordyn.
71:30
Jordyn Wickes (3)
Assisted By: Renee Watson
GOAL by MSU Wickes, Jordyn Assist by Watson, Renee.
73:52
Jordyn Wickes (3)
GOAL by MSU Wickes, Jordyn.
78:49
