Women's Soccer Hosts Ohio State in Big Ten Opener Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Defending Big Ten champion Michigan State women's soccer opens Big Ten play on Sunday, Sept. 17, hosting Ohio State at 1 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium.

The match will stream on B1G+ with live stats on MSUSpartans.com.

FIRST TOUCH
The Spartans enter Sunday's match at 5-2-1 after closing out non-conference play with a 2-2 home draw against Dayton on Sept. 10. Freshman midfielder Bella Najera scored her third goal in four games for the Spartans against Dayton, while MJ Andrus also added a goal in the 79th minute for her first score of the season. Najera's goal also marked her third in four games, bringing her point total to 7 (3 goals, 1 assist) in 2023, which is tied for third-best on the team.

The Spartans are 99-183-33 all-time in Big Ten play and will look to secure the program's 100th conference win on Sunday.

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
Ohio State head coach Lori Walker-Hock is in her 27th year leading the Buckeyes, holding a 286-196-58 during her time in Columbus. The Buckeyes enter Big Ten play at 4-2-1 and are riding a three-game winning streak after most recently defeating Auburn, 2-0, at home on Sept. 10 to close out the non-conference season.

Junior forward Kailyn Dudukovich leads OSU in scoring (18 points), goals (7) and assists (4) this season. She ranks third in goals scored in the Big Ten this season and has recorded a point in five of the Buckeyes' seven matches in 2023. Ohio State finished in a tie for fourth in the league standings last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

STORY OF THE SERIES
Sunday's match will be the 29th all-time between the two squads. Ohio State holds a 16-12-0 all-time edge in the series. MSU has dominated the series in East Lansing, posting a 9-3-0 record at home vs. OSU. The Spartans have won the last two contests against the Buckeyes, most recently earning a 1-0 victory on the road last season to clinch the Big Ten regular season title on Oct. 20. MSU last fell to the Buckeyes during the abbreviated 2021 spring season, dropping a 1-0 contest in East Lansing.

SPARTANS IN B1G OPENERS
MSU is 11-14-4 all-time in Big Ten openers. Sunday's match against Ohio State marks the start of the 30th Big Ten women's soccer season for the Spartans.

Sunday's match is the first Big Ten opener at home for MSU since 2017 (1-0 loss to Indiana, Sept. 14), as the Spartans have played their last five Big Ten openers on the road. MSU is 7-3-1 in Big Ten openers at home. MSU has won its last two conference openers, defeating Indiana, 1-0, on Sept. 19, 2021, and topping Illinois, 3-0, on Sept. 18 last season. Ohio State earned a 1-0 victory in Columbus in the last conference-opening meeting between the two squads on Sept. 19, 2019.

UP NEXT
The Spartans travel to Minneapolis for their first conference road test of the season at Minnesota on Thursday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. ET.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

MJ Andrus

Bella Najera