Spartans Host Milwaukee Friday In NCAA Opener

No. 9 Michigan State (12-3-6) vs (RV) Illinois (12-3-1, 5-3-1 B1G )
Dates/Location	Sunday, Oct. 19 \| 1 pm DeMartin Stadium , East Lansing \| Gameday Information
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office
Tournament Information	NCAA.com Website
Television	None
Webstream	ESPN+
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Milwaukee
Press Conference	Coach Hosler Press Conference (Nov. 10)
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

The Starting XI
The top notes you need to know about Michigan State women's soccer

• Michigan State is a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, and will host Horizon League champion Milwaukee on Friday night at 6 pm. The teams will meet for the 14th time in program history, and third time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The teams played earlier this fall (Oct. 24), with MSU earning a 9-0 victory.   MSU has earned its highest-ever seeding in the NCAA Tournament field, and could host up to four games at DeMartin Stadium.

• All NCAA Tournament games in this round will be streamed on ESPN+. Links for all webstreams, live stats, and more can be found above or on the women's soccer schedule page.

• The Spartans are 12-3-6 on the season and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament final. MSU battled Washington through two OT periods to settle on a 1-1 draw, but fell in penalty kicks to see the Huskies capture the Big Ten automatic bid and tournament trophy. MSU (24 points) finished two points behind Washington (26 points) in the regular-season standings.

• Michigan State is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth consecutive. The Spartans have hosted at least one NCAA Tournament game in each of its last three seasons, and are 5-3 all-time under head coach Jeff Hosler. MSU advanced to the Round of 16 in both 2023 and 2024.

• The Spartans are 12-3-6 overall on the season and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament finals. MSU battled Washington through two overtimes to settle on a 1-1 draw, but fell in penalty kicks, 4-1 to see the Huskies capture the league's tournament trophy. MSU's unbeaten streak was extended to six games - the longest active streak in the Big Ten.

• A total of 12 MSU opponents qualified for this year's NCAA Tournament: seven Big Ten teams and five of the Spartans' seven non-conference opponents. Notre Dame (1), Colorado (3), and Xavier (6) are seeded.

• MSU had six players earn postseason honors from the Big Ten: Kennedy Bell was the Big Ten Forward of the Year and was joined on the First Team by Emerson Sargeant, Kayla Briggs, and Maggie Illig. Bella Najera earned Second Team honors, and Remini Tillotson was the Sportsmanship Award winner.

• MSU boasts three of the Big Ten's top 10 point scorers: Bell (26), Briggs (19) and Sargeant (17).

• Sargeant scored both of MSU's goals against UCLA, intercepting a goal kick just over three minutes into overtime for the game-winner. She was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.

•  Briggs had two of MSU's four goals in the Big Ten tournament - she the lone goal in MSU's quarterfinal win over Northwestern (11/2) and then scored on a penalty kick vs. Washington.

• Bell set up Sargeant's game-tying goal in the second half against UCLA, pushing her to 26 points on the season (10g, 6a). She has tied Lauren DeBeau (11-4-26) for the highest-scoring player in the Jeff Hosler era and is tied for 17th all-time in a single season at MSU.