MSU Wraps B1G Road Trip at Wisconsin Sunday

Michigan State (5-2-4, 2-0-2 B1G) at No. 20 Wisconsin (8-2-1, 1-2-2 B1G)
Dates/Location	Sunday, September 28 \| 8 pm ET/ 7 pm CT McClimon Soccer Complex, Madison, Wis.
Television	none
Webstream	Watch on BTN+
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Wisconsin
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

The Particulars
• Michigan State finishes up the weekend with a game at No. 20 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon (1 pm ET/12 pm CT). The Badgers upset No. 8 Iowa on Thursday, while MSU came from behind to defeat Minnesota behind a pair of second-half goals, 2-1.

• The series between the teams tilts heavily in favor of the Badgers, who lead 31-6-2 and 17-2-0 when the game is played in Madison. This is the third straight season that these two teams will meet, and MSU has won the first two by 2-0 and 1-0 scores, accounting for two of the six all-time victories. Jeff Hosler is 2-1-0 against Wisconsin during his MSU tenure.

• All 18 schools have earned at least one point in the Big Ten standings through four games. Only five teams remain unbeaten: UCLA (3-0-1), Michigan State and Washington (2-0-2) and both Ohio State and Northwestern are 0-0-4. No school has started 4-0, and none have gone 0-4.

Team Notes
• The Spartans earned their first road win of the season on Thursday at Minnesota, getting goals from Kennedy Bell and Emerson Sargeant and a five-save performance from Noelle Henning.

• MSU went 1-0-1 against the California Big Ten schools last week, playing to a 1-1 deadlock against No. 4 UCLA Thursday night on BTN before posting a 4-0 win over Southern California on Sunday. MSU is 1-0-1 both at home and on the road in Conference action.

• The Sept. 18 tie vs. the fourth-ranked Bruins was MSU's fourth of the season, one shy of the school record of five set in 2005 and matched last year.

• 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, and it is now also is the first time in school history that MSU has opened the B1G season with consecutive draws (1-1 vs. both Rutgers and UCLA).

• MSU scored the first goal of the game in both matchups last week, and for just the third and fourth time this season (3-0-1). MSU has conceded the first score in six matches, including the Thursday win at Minnesota.

• With 25 goals through 11 games, MSU is first in the Big Ten in both total goals (22nd nationally) and goals per game (2.27, 36th nationally).

• The Spartans have outshot their opponents 164-115, with a commanding 104-60 edge in the second half. MSU outshot the Gophers 11-7 in the second half on Thursday.

• Of MSU's 25 goals on the season, 17 of them have come in the second 45, compared to just three goals for Spartan opponents.

• The Spartans share the Big Ten lead and rank 20th nationally in corner kicks per game (6.82). MSU has 75 corners to just 32 allowed and have a 40-15 edge in corners in the second stanza. MSU had a 6-1 edge in corners against Minnesota.

• Michigan State is not ranked in either national poll this week. In fact, the Sept. 8 poll was the first time since Sept. 19, 2023 that the Spartans were not in the top 25 or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national poll. 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.

• Starting off the season at 3-0-2, the Spartans were ranked as high as No. 12 and 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.

• MSU's full-season strength of schedule ranks 16th nationally and first in the Big Ten. Spartan opponents are a combined 88-38-20 (.660).

• The Big Ten owned a 69-30-20 record (.663) through non-conference play. The ACC has the most victories of any conference at 76-21-24 (.727), the SEC posted 72-27-14 (.699), and Big 12 narrowly leads in winning percentage (66-19-18, .728).

• 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 returned 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 owned 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 welcomed home crowds of 1,200+ fans for all seven of their home games this fall, with a single-match high of 2,214 vs. Notre Dame and a doubleheader total of 4,025 on Aug. 21 vs. NC State. MSU ranks fourth nationally in overall attendance (13,953) and seventh in average attendance (1,993).
   MSU ranked fifth nationally in overall (28,397) and sixth in average (2,184) attendance last season.

Player Notes - Field Players
• Michigan State has five players who have started every game this season, and eight who have played in all 10.

• MSU has 11 different goal scorers of its 25 goals on the season. Five have multiple goals.

• Kennedy Bell kept her hot hand (foot?) going with a goal at Minnesota. The reigning Top Drawer Soccer and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week had a goal in a third straight game, with four goals and an assist for nine points in those three games. She scored MSU's lone goal against UCLA, and then had a hand in every MSU goal scored in the run of play last Sunday vs USC. She tied up Thursday's game in the 47th minute against the Gophers.

• Bell shares the Big Ten lead in goals (8), which ranks 15th among Division I players. Her 18 points ranks second in the B1G and 25th nationally. She is first in the Big Ten in goals per game (0.73, 32nd NCAA) and second in points per game (1.64, 41st NCAA.)

• Bell's brace against USC was her first as a Spartan and the second of her career. She had a two-goal game in 2024 at Maryland against VCU.

• Bell is the third Spartan player to record a brace this season - Renee Watson (8/24 vs. Milwaukee) and Bella 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 in 2021 - but this was the first time it happened in consecutive games.

• Through 11 games this season, Bell has doubled her eight career points and nearly tripled her three career goals that she scored in two seasons at Maryland, where her role was primarily as a defensive player.

• Redshirt junior Emerson Sargeant got her first goal of the year on Thursday at Minnesota, the eventual game-winner in the 50th minute. This was her first goal since Oct. 29, 2023 vs. Iowa - she suffered a season-ending injury five games into the 2024 season.

• Sargeant has started all 11 games, ranks fourth on the team in minutes played (746) In her four seasons at MSU, she has a 5-14-24 career scoring line, which is fourth among active players.

• Renee Watson picked up the assist on Sargeant's game-winner on Thursday, her team-best fourth of the season. For both MSU scores, she had a brilliant pass into space to kick-start the goal-scoring sequence. She had a team-best three shot attempts in her 75 minutes on Thursday.

• 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 third-highest point total in a single game for any B1G player this season.

• 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 eight games this season.

• Bella Najera is second on the team with 11 points, which is tied for 11th among B1G players. Her four goals ranks 11th in the league. She has 29 shots / 2.64 shots per contest, which rank eighth and 10th in the league, respectively.

• Najera has a point in six of MSU's 11 games, the second-most on the team behind Bell (7).

• Najera's score against Rutgers (9/12) was the 21st of her career, which puts her in a tie for 14th in the Spartan annals with Camryn Evans (2018-22), Jennifer Huegli (1988-89) and Jamie Cheslik (2014-17). Her 54 career points moves her into a tie for 16th all-time with her former teammate Justina Gaynor (17-20-54, 2021-24). Najera played in her 50th career collegiate game against Xavier (8/31).

• 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.

• Junior Kayla Briggs had a four-point week against the B1G California schools, as she set up Bell for her goal against UCLA, and then ha a goal and an assist in the game vs. USC. She is second on the team in assists (3), and is for fourth on the team in points (7).

• Briggs is tied with Maggie Illig for the most minutes on the team, (838), which included going all 90 minutes against Colorado, Buffalo, Rutgers and UCLA; Illig played all 90 vs. Colorado, Dayton, Rutgers, UCLA, and Minnesota. Najera (796 minutes) logged 90 at Rutgers and vs. Buffalo, and the trio rank 1-2-3 on the team in minutes played.

• Briggs joined the Spartans after two seasons at Providence, where she combined for five goals, three game-winners, and seven assists over those two years. She now has a career scoring line of 7-10-24, which is third on the team in career scoring behind Bella Najera (21-11-53) and Kennedy Bell (10-5-25).

• Senior Remini Tillotson had her first goal as a Spartan when she converted a penalty kick against USC (9/21). It was also the first PK for her in her collegiate career. She has appeared in all 11 games.

• Freshman Ava Lutke earned her first career start vs. Notre Dame (9/4) and has started four total, which includes each of MSU's first three B1G games. She has appeared in all 11 Spartan games and her 614 total minutes leads all freshmen. She has one goal on the year, scored against NC State (8/21), and had an assist on Kennedy Bell's game-winner vs. USC (9/21).

• Bell (2), Najera, Illig, and Sargeant have MSU's five game-winning goals this season, with Najera and Bell each notching game-tying scores.

•   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.

• Kaleigh McPherson has started each of the last five games (and six overall). She was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2024.

• Redshirt sophomore Shelby Vaughn is one of four Spartans with multiple goals this season (2). She made her collegiate debut on Aug. 24, against Milwaukee, and scored her first collegiate goal in that contest. She added a second goal on the year against Xavier, (8/31), the first time she played more than 17 minutes in a game. She did not play in the game vs. UCLA but appeared in each of MSU's previous five games, and played in nearly 40 minutes in three.

• Adelle Francis started MSU's most recent game at Minnesota, and has played in 10 of MSU's 11 games overall. She has a goal and an assist after contributing a pair of assists in 19 games last year as a redshirt freshman.

• Samantha Maroni has started each of MSU's four Big Ten games, including going all 90 against the Gophers. She's played in 10 games after appearing in just three as a freshman.

• Junior Ella Janz started MSU's Big Ten opener at Rutgers, after missing three games with an injury. Janz had her first point of the year on an assist on Kennedy Bell's second goal against USC (9/21), and nearly had a goal of her own on a header attempt. She has played in 32 games over her three collegiate seasons.
• Mimi Hallier had her first career point against Buffalo (8/28), when she set up Najera for the game-winner. Hallier has started nine of the 10 games she has played this season and has played 41 career contests.

• Regan Dalton missed nearly all of the 2024 season after being injured just 30 minutes into the opener. She has played in all 11 games this year, starting six.

• Sophomore centerback Julia Belli was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2024, but she has not been active for a game yet this season. Belli started every game as a freshman and has one goal in 22 career games.

• Senior fullbacks Allie Mairn and Sofia Beerworth have each played 10 of 11 MSU games, and each started six.

Player Notes: Keepers
• MSU has mostly platooned its two freshmen keepers - through 11 games, Noelle Henning has 585 minutes, and Kennedy Zorn 405. Henning started the game at Xavier, and Zorn came in to play the second half.

• Henning has started each of the last three Big Ten games and seven games overall. On Thursday, she made five saves against the Gophers, one behind her career-best six saves in the 1-1 tie against No. 4 UCLA.

• Henning made a pair of impressive saves late in the game vs. the Bruins, punching the ball out of harm's way on a corner kick with seven minutes left and then a huge stop with 51 seconds remaining on the clock to preserve the tie. Her six saves was her career-best - she previously had five saves against NC State (8/21).

• Both Henning and Zorn have two shutouts to their credit this season - that ranks in a tie for 14th in the Big Ten.

• Henning's 3.86 saves per game ranks fifth in the Big Ten. She owns a 1.69 GAA and .711 save percentage in seven games, all starts. She owns a 3-2-2 record.

• In Big Ten games only, Henning ranks third in save percentage (.875) and sixth in GAA (0.67). Her 4.67 saves per game ranks third among Conference keepers, and her 14 saves is tied for ninth.

• Zorn earned the start in the Big Ten opener at Rutgers, and was credited with three saves and one goal against in her most recent outing.

• In four starts and five appearances (405 MP), Zorn has 10 saves (.833 Sv%, sixth in the Big Ten) and two goals against (0.44 GAA, fourth B1G),

•    All players must appear in 75% of their team's games in order to appear in Big Ten rankings - and overall, neither of MSU's freshman keepers appears in the Conference statistics.

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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

Ella Janz

Ava Lutke

Allie Mairn

Samantha Maroni

Kaleigh McPherson

Bella Najera

Emerson Sargeant

Remini Tillotson

Shelby Vaughn

Renee Watson

Kennedy Zorn