No. 5 Notre Dame Comes to DeMartin Thursday For Final Non-Conference Showdown

RV Michigan State (3-1-2) vs No. 5 Notre Dame (4-0-1 )
Dates/Location	Thursday, Sept. 4 \| 7:30 pm DeMartin Stadium , East Lansing \| Gameday Information
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office
Promotions	Go Green! Wear White!
Television	Big Ten Network Dean Linke (pxp), Leah Link (analysis)
Webstream	Fox Sports App
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Notre Dame
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

The Particulars
• Michigan State hosts its first ranked opponent of the season when it entertains No. 5 Notre Dame at DeMartin Stadium on Thursday.

• The game will air live on Big Ten Network, with Dean Linke and Lauren Link on the call. Links for webstreams, live statistics, game previews and more can be found on the schedule page at MSUSpartans.com.

• These two teams met in last year's season opener, a 2-1 MSU victory in South Bend. The Spartan win snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Irish, dating back to 1990. In last year's game, each team had a goal in the opening 10 minutes, and then Justina Gaynor scored the eventual game-winner just 45 seconds into the second half.

Team Notes
• MSU has three of its next four home games live on BTN: vs. Notre Dame (9/4), vs. UCLA (9/18) and vs. Ohio State (10/5).

• This is MSU's final non-conference game before Big Ten play begins next Friday (9/12) at Rutgers.

• The Spartans suffered their first setback of the season last Sunday on the road at Xavier, as the Musketeer offense rattled off five goals in the first 30 minutes of the game and went on to a 5-2 victory.

• All seven goals given up by MSU this season have come in the first 34 minutes of the game, including two given up in the first 3:30 (vs. Colorado and Xavier).

•   MSU's loss at Xavier was its first regular-season setback since Oct. 13 of last year on the road at Washington. MSU has dropped just 10 regular-season games in the four-plus years tenure of Jeff Hosler and only six since the start of the 2022 season.

• Each of MSU's last five losses, dating back to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, have been away from DeMartin Stadium. The Spartans have a 17-game active unbeaten streak on their home pitch. The last setback at DeMartin was a 2-1 loss to Iowa in the 2023 Big Ten Tournament. MSU is 3-0-1 in 2025 at home.

•   The five goals by Xavier was the most allowed to an opponent in the tenure of Jeff Hosler, and the most since a 7-3 loss to Michigan in the Spring 2021 COVID-shortened campaign.

• MSU began last week's action with a 2-1 win over Buffalo at DeMartin Stadium on Thursday. Bella Najera had both goals for the Spartans, while Kennedy Zorn made her second straight start and made one save.

• Starting off the season at 3-0-2, the Spartans opened their fourth season in five under Hosler with a five-game unbeaten streak or more. The 2024 Spartans set the school record with a 14-game unbeaten streak to start the year, surpassing the previous record of 10 set in 2009. The 2023 MSU squad won three straight to open the year.

• With 17 goals through five games, MSU ranks 13th nationally in total goals (first in the Big Ten) and first in the league in goal differential (+10) and corner kicks (46, 7.67 per game).

• Sixteen of MSU's 17 goals have been scored in its last four games compared to just one score in the first two contests of the season. MSU started the campaign with back-to-back ties: a 1-1 decision at Colorado and 0-0 against Dayton at home. This was the first time in program history that MSU started the season with ties in its first two games.

• The Spartans have scored six first-half goals this season, and 11 in the second. MSU's seven second-half tallies against Milwaukee were a DeMartin Stadium record.

• Michigan State is receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches national poll after being ranked No. 17 last week. In the preseason survey, MSU came in at No. 12 - its highest preseason ranking in program history. The Spartans completed the 2024 season at No. 14 after advancing to the NCAA Round of 16.

• The Big Ten owns a 52-23-18 record (.656) through the first three weeks of non-conference play. The ACC has the most victories of any conference at 58-19-2 (.749), and the SEC is 57-18-8 (.735), and Big 12 leads in winning percentage (51-11-4, .803).

• Michigan State is coming off a 2024 season in which it compiled a 14-3-5 overall record, and went 7-1-3 in Big Ten games. MSU finished fourth (25 points), one point out of third place and two out of second. The Spartans claimed Big Ten regular-season titles in 2022 and 2023, and advanced to the Sweet 16 in both 2023 and 2024.

• The Spartans lost 28 of 45 total goals and 80 of 134 points from the 2024 team, as well as both keepers who played last season. Michigan State returns 19 players from the 2024 roster, however - and welcome nine freshmen and two junior transfers.

• In the first four years of Jeff Hosler's tenure at MSU, the Spartans own an overall record of 55-16-16, and is 28-6-6 in Big Ten play. In that stretch, the Spartans own the most B1G victories of the 14 teams who played all four years in the league (two ahead of Rutgers' 26) and the second-most overall wins, behind Penn State's 58. The Green & White is also the only team to finish in the top four of the Big Ten in each of those four seasons.
   Two of the newest members of the Big Ten own 71 (UCLA) and 55 (USC) victories over the last four seasons overall.

• The Spartan schedule features 11 home dates and 18 total games, and nine contests against opponents who appeared in the final United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll last December. MSU takes the field against nine teams which qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including Notre Dame (No. 2 in the preseason poll); season opening opponent Colorado not only qualified for the tournament, but the unseeded Buffs reached the second round and the Irish advanced to the final eight. Of the nine B1G squads that made the NCAA Tournament field a year ago (including MSU), eight won at least one game, six advanced into the round of 16 and two into the quarterfinals. MSU's strength of schedule for 2025 is 13th nationally, with eight of the top 15 in that ranking hailing from the Big Ten.

• MSU's 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 12 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer, with all nine first-year players earning three-star rankings or higher and five players among the top 200 incoming freshmen per the outlet's individual rankings.

• The Spartans have all four home games with attendance of 1,200+ fans - all before classes had started. The Spartans rank third nationally in overall attendance (8,442) and eighth in average attendance (2,111).
   MSU ranked fifth nationally in overall (28,397) and sixth in average (2,184) attendance last season.

Player Notes - Field Players
• Michigan State has seven players who have started all six games this season.

• MSU has 10 different goal scorers of its 17 goals on the season. Four have multiple goals.

• Kennedy Bell netted her fourth goal of the season on the road at Xavier. She owns the team lead in that category and is tied for second in the Big Ten (32nd nationally); her nine points ranks third in the Big Ten. Her 1.50 points per game is eighth in the B1G.

• Through six games this season, Bell has already surpassed her three career goals she had in her two seasons at Maryland, where she was a defensive player.

• Shelby Vaughn had MSU's second-half goal at Xavier. It was her second goal of the season in her third appearance; she redshirted the 2024 campaign, and scored her first career goal in her collegiate debut vs. Milwaukee (8/24). Vaughn is one of four Spartans with multiple goals this season.
• Bella Najera had her second and third goals of the season last Thursday against Buffalo, and all three of her goals have come in the last three games. She notched her first goal of the season against Milwaukee after assists in two of the first three MSU games.

• Najera is second among Spartans in both points (8, fourth B1G) and goals (3, fifth B1G). Her two assists puts her in a tie for eighth in the conference. She leads the team with 17 shot attempts, which is tied for fourth among B1G players

• Najera's two goals against Buffalo pushed her career total to 20, which puts her alone in 17th place on MSU's list of all-time goal scorers. Her 51 points ranks in a tie for 19th all-time in program history. She made her 45th career start in her 50th career game against Xavier.

• The 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Najera made her way into the single-season record books that year at MSU, with a 9-6-24 scoring line - the 21st most points and 24th most points in a season.

• Najera was a Big Ten Player to Watch and a United Soccer Coaches Midfielder to Watch in the pre-season. The 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year has earned Third Team All-Big Ten honors in each of the last two seasons.

• Renee Watson had a career day against Milwaukee (8/24) with two goals and two assists - it was her first collegiate goal, brace, and multi-point game. It is also the most points in a single game for any B1G player this season.

• Watson (8/24 vs. Milwaukee) and Najera (8/28 vs. Buffalo) gave MSU its first occurrence of braces in back-to-back games under Jeff Hosler. The Spartans posted four, two-goal games in 2024, two in 2023, and one each in 2021 - but this was the first time it happened in consecutive games.

• Watson is tied for 10th in the Big Ten in points (7) and second in assists (3).

• Watson missed a month of the Spartan season in 2024 with the Canadian Women's National Team at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She returned in mid-September and started 13 of her 15 games on the year. She has started all six games this season.

• Bell, Najera, and Maggie Illig have MSU's three game-winning goals this season.

• Maggie Illig scored her first goal of the season just minutes into the Milwaukee game (8/24). It was the fourth of her career - she had one goal in each of her first three collegiate seasons.

• Illig was the most decorated Spartan in the pre-season, earning a spot on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, the United Soccer Coaches Defenders to Watch, and also is among the Big Ten Players to Watch. She was a Second Team All-Big Ten pick a year ago and was also a United Soccer Coaches All-Region pick.

• Kayla Briggs had a goal against NC State and an assist against Milwaukee to get into the Spartan scoring column. She joined the Spartans after two seasons at Providence, where she combined for five goals, three game-winners, and seven assists over those two years.

• Briggs has played all 90 minutes against both Colorado and Buffalo; Maggie Illig played all 90 vs. both Colorado and Dayton, and Bella Najera logged 90 vs. Buffalo.

• Adelle Francis had a goal and an assist in back-to-back games vs. NC State and Milwaukee, giving her three points on the year. She contributed a pair of assists in 19 games last year as a redshirt freshman.

• Redshirt junior Emerson Sargeant recorded her first point of the year last Sunday, setting up Shelby Vaughn's second-half score. Sargeant suffered a season-ending injury five games into the 2024 season. She had four assists in those five games last season before the injury. In her four seasons at MSU, she has a 4-14-22 career scoring line, second only to Bella Najera.

• Mimi Hallier had her first career point against Buffalo, when she set up Najera for the game-winner. Hallier has started all six games this season and has played 37 career contests.

• The Spartans returned six players with 16 or more starts last year: Seniors Sofia Beerworth and Maggie Illig, juniors Bella Najera and Renee Watson, and sophomores Julia Belli and Kaleigh McPherson. A pair of Spartan starters from 2023 lost their 2024 seasons to injury (Regan Dalton and Emerson Sargeant), and returned healthy for the 2025 campaign to provide MSU a solid corps of seasoned veterans with an eye on making a run at their third Big Ten title in three seasons.

• The early-season losses of Regan Dalton and Sargeant a year ago left a hole in the Spartan midfield - Dalton was injured in the first game of the year, and Sargeant in the fifth. Sargeant had a 4-6-14 scoring line as a sophomore and already had four assists to her credit in the first four games of 2024 before suffering the injury.
   Regan Dalton played 70 minutes against Colorado, more than double the minutes she logged before suffering her season-ending injury in the 2024 opener.
   Sargeant was injured five games into last season, and has played 368 minutes this year - she played in 384 a year ago.

• Sophomores Julia Belli and Kaleigh McPherson both garnered spots on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team a year ago. Belli started every game as a freshman and McPherson started 16 of the team's final 17 contests. Each had a goal in 22 career games.

Player Notes - Keepers
• Noelle Henning started the game at Xavier, and Kennedy Zorn came in to play the second half. Henning made three stops in 45 minutes, and Zorn made two in 45 minutes of shutout action.

• In three starts and four appearances (315 MP), Zorn has seven saves (.875 Sv%, 38th nationally) and one goal against (0.286 GAA, 16th nationally), both which rank as third-best in the B1G. She ranks in a tie for sixth in the Big Ten in shutouts (2) behind Izzy Lee of Illinois (4). Notable, however, is that players must appear in 75% of their team's games in order to appear in Big Ten rankings.

• Both Henning and Zorn have started three MSU games this season, and until Sunday had played the full 90 in each start.

• Henning earned her first career victory and shutout against NC State (8/21), making five saves. She made her collegiate debut as the Spartan keeper vs. Colorado (8/14), and made two saves - one in each half. She stopped three shots in 45 minutes at Xavier, and now owns a .625 save percentage and 2.40 GAA.

No. 5 Notre Dame Comes to DeMartin Thursday For Final Non-Conference Showdown

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Players Mentioned

Sofia Beerworth

Kennedy Bell

Julia Belli

Kayla Briggs

Regan Dalton

Adelle Francis

Justina Gaynor

Mimi Hallier

Noelle Henning

Maggie Illig

Kaleigh McPherson

Bella Najera

Emerson Sargeant

Shelby Vaughn

Renee Watson

Kennedy Zorn