No. 4 UCLA, MSU Play to 1-1 Draw

East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State and No. 4 UCLA played to a 1-1 draw at DeMartin Stadium on Thursday evening. Kennedy Bell had the Spartan goal, and freshman keeper Noelle Henning had a career-best six saves, including a huge one in the final minute to preserve a 1-1 tie.

Michigan State is now 3-2-4 and 0-0-2 in conference play, and UCLA is 5-2-1, 1-0-1 B1G.
MSU got on the board in the 19^th minute on a beautiful setup of Kennedy Bell; Kayla Briggs stole a throw-in by the Bruins and pushed it ahead for Bell, who buried her fifth goal of the season. Bella Najera just missed on an attempt with seven minutes remaining in the first half, and MSU was once again close to taking a 2-0 lead in the 57^th minute when Renee Watson's shot hit the right post.

What a goal from Briggs and Bell! MSU takes the 1-0 lead on this beauty pic.twitter.com/eUg4bCWw30
— Michigan State Women's Soccer (@MSU_wsoccer) September 19, 2025

UCLA gained the equalizer in the 58^th minute, right after Watson's near-miss. A save by Henning on a Oruha Hayashi shot spun away from her and Kara Croone buried the loose ball on the rebound.

The Spartans made Nakfoor work for her five saves, which all came in the second half. MSU had its chances down the stretch – a Briggs shot was blocked at the top of the box, and on the ensuing corner kick, Nakfoor smothered a header attempt by Adelle Francis. Briggs had another attempt with 3:30 remaining that Nakfoor grabbed with 3:30 to play.

Henning had four of her six stops in the second half, including a save with just over seven minutes to go on a corner play that she forcefully punched out of danger. Her biggest stop may have come on a laser off a crossing pass by Lexi Wright from the left side with just 51 seconds remaining.

This save by Henning ... pic.twitter.com/QydSSqlhpU
— Michigan State Women's Soccer (@MSU_wsoccer) September 19, 2025

SCORING
19' –UCLA 0, MSU 1: The play began at midfield on a UCLA throw-in from in front of the MSU bench, which was short to meet its intended target. Kayla Briggs collected it right on the center line and pushed it forward, sending a beautiful pass to Kennedy Bell on the right side. She took two touches as she pushed the ball ahead, and her right-footed shot beat keeper Daphne Nakfoor into the right side of the net.

58' –UCLA 1, MSU 1 : Oruha Hayashi got herself free for a shot from the right side, and Noelle Henning made the initial save. The ball spun out of her hands, and Kara Croone put a left-footed shot into the net for the equalizing tally.

MATCH NOTES

MSU got on the board first after allowing the first goal in each of its last four games.
At the half, UCLA held a slim 4-3 lead in shots and led 2-1 in shots on goal. While corners were even at one each, the Bruins also had a 7-2 lead in fouls. Each team had nine second-half shots and two additional corner kicks.
UCLA had 15 fouls to MSU's five, and each team had a pair of yellow cards.
Kennedy Bell regained the team lead in goals with her fifth of the season in the first half. She also now leads the Spartans with 11 points.
Kayla Briggs picked up her second assist of the season.
Freshman keeper Noelle Henning made a career-best six saves, surpassing the five she had in a 3-0 shutout of NC State (Aug. 21).

UP NEXT
The Spartans complete the homestand with a game against USC at DeMartin Stadium on Sunday at 1 pm. The Women of Troy played to a 2-2 draw at Michigan on Thursday night.

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Team Stats

Kennedy Bell

Kayla Briggs

Bella Najera

Sofia Beerworth

Players Mentioned

Kennedy Bell

Kayla Briggs

Adelle Francis

Noelle Henning

Bella Najera

Renee Watson