Spartans Close Regular Season Friday at Northwestern - Michigan State University Athletics

No. 6/14 Michigan State (12-3-2, 8-3 B1G) at Northwestern (4-9-3, 1-7-2 B1G)
Dates/Location	Friday, Oct. 30 \| 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium \| Evanston, Ill.
Television	none
Webstream	B1G+
Live Stats	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Northwestern
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What you need to know about Michigan State women's soccer

• The 2026 regular season concludes on Friday with all 18 Big Ten teams in action, which includes Michigan State traveling to Evanston, Ill. to tangle with Northwestern. The game will be streamed live on B1G+.

• Michigan State is 16-11-2 all-time in the series with Northwestern, including three consecutive victories dating back to 2022. The teams have not met in the regular season since 2024, but faced off in the Big Ten quarterfinals a year ago - a 1-0 MSU victory at Purdue on a goal by Kayla Briggs.   In games played in Evanston, the series is even, tied 7-7-1. MSU has not conceded a goal to the Wildcats in the last two meetings, which both ended in 1-0 scores.

•   Longtime head coach Michael Moynihan has guided Northwestern to a 4-9-3 record (1-7-2 B1G).   The 'Cats are coming off a 3-1 loss on Sunday to Purdue that extended their losing streak to six matches. Northwestern is out of contention for the Big Ten Tournament field.

• The Big Ten Tournament has a new format in 2026 - the field has been reduced to eight teams, with the quarterfinals (Nov. 4-5) and semifinals (Nov. 8) slated for Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri (the home of MLS's St. Louis City SC.) The Big Ten Championship game will be played on Friday Nov. 13 at the home site of the highest remaining seed. Complete Tournament information can be found at the Big Ten Tournament Central Page.

•   Seven teams have secured a spot in the Big Ten Tournament field: regular-season champion Ohio State (30 points), UCLA and Purdue (25 points), Michigan State (24), Penn State and Washington (21 points), and Wisconsin (20).    Two teams are still alive for the eighth and final spot in St. Louis: Michigan (17) and Iowa (16). Iowa hosts Wisconsin on Friday, while Michigan will host league champ OSU.
                The remainder of the teams in the league have been mathematically eliminated, and all but two Friday games will have implications on seeding. Ohio State is the only team that is locked into a seed (No.1).

•   Michigan State posted a victory in its regular-season home finale vs. Maryland (1-0) last Sunday. Renee Watson recorded the Spartan goal and Noelle Henning posted MSU's 10th shutout of the year, matching its 2025 total.

• Michigan State Is tied for sixth in the IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches national poll, and has been among the top six in that poll in every playing week this season. The Spartans rank No. 14 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.

• MSU sits at No. 6 in the most recent RPI rankings. Through 17 games, MSU has played a total of nine teams in the current RPI top 50 (10/28), and four non-conference opponents are in the RPI top 20 (North Carolina, Notre Dame, Colorado, and Xavier).

• The Spartans' strength of schedule currently ranks as the eighth most difficult in the nation to this point of the season (via NCAA metrics). Spartan opponents are a combined 129-64-70 (.624).   MSU's non-conference RPI ranks as No. 1 in the country.

• MSU's 34 goals ranks fourth in the Big Ten (42nd, NCAA),as does its scoring offense of 2.00 goals per game. The Spartans also rank second in the Big Ten in both assists (44, eighth nationally) and total points (112, 21st).

• Michigan State has registered shutouts in five of its last seven games, all Big Ten opponents: vs. Washington (9/27), Illinois (10/4), Minnesota (10/ 8), Indiana (10/16), and Maryland (10/25).

• MSU's team GAA is 0.882, good for seventh in the Big Ten. Its shutout percentage (0.588, 10 in 17 games) is second in the league and 17 nationally. In Big Ten games only, MSU leads the league in shutouts (7), shots (197, 17.91/gm) assists (34), and corner kicks (87), ranks third in goals (23) and has conceded the third fewest goals (9) in 11 games.

• MSU's defense has held opponents to just 152 shot attempts in 77 games, with 56 on target. The Spartans have forced opposing keepers to average more than five saves per game over 17 contests (5.47), and MSU has averaged 17.47 shot attempts per game (3rd B1G/16th nationally). Opposing offenses have been limited 8.9 attempts and 3.29 shots on target per game this season, along with 3.12 corner kicks per contest.

• Michigan State is fourth in the country with 137 corners (8.06 per game). The Spartans more than double up opponents in this category (53, 3.11/game). Despite being one of the top teams in the nation in corners, MSU is one of two schools in the Big Ten without a penalty kick opportunity this season.
      In only two games this season - at North Carolina and at Notre Dame - has an opponent taken more corners. MSU has not allowed more than five in a Big Ten game this season; the Spartans have allowed two corners or fewer in each of their last five games, including holding Indiana without one (10/16).

• Jeff Hosler has coached his teams to a 43-10-10 record in Big Ten games since coming to MSU. In his first season (2021), the Spartans went 5-4-1 in conference play and are 38-6-9 in the four-plus years since. He is 82-23-22 at MSU overall, and 315-90-40 in his head coaching career (21st season).

• MSU has a streak of 40 consecutive home contests with crowds of 1,000 fans or more. In fact, 63 of MSU's 71 home games under Jeff Hosler have been over that mark, and DeMartin has not hosted fewer fans in a game since Oct. 19, 2023, vs. Illinois.

Player Notes
• MSU boasted four of the Big Ten's top 10 scorers in 2025, and all four currently sit in the top four spots of MSU's scoring chart in 2026: Kennedy Bell, Kayla Briggs, Bella Najera and Emerson Sargeant. All four are among MSU's top 30 career point producers in program history as well.

• Bell and Briggs were named to the 2026 Hermann Trophy Mid-Season Watch List, announced Sept. 30 by the Intercollegiate Women's Soccer Organization for Coaches (IWSOC), in partnership with United Soccer Coaches. Both were on the preseason watch list that contained 62 athletes, and that list has been narrowed to 30 athletes at mid-season.  MSU is one of seven schools nationally (and just two in the Big Ten) to have two midseason honorees.

• Bell, Briggs, and Renee Watson were named to Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 list last week. Bell came in at No. 10, Briggs at No. 15, and Watson at No. 88.   Only Michigan State, Ohio State, and Duke can boast two top-15 selections.

• Renee Watson has the hottest hand (foot?) on the roster. She scored MSU's lone goal in a win over Maryland last Sunday and has two goals and an assist over her last three games. She leads the team in minutes played this season, (1308). After a career-best 13-point junior season in the Spartan midfield in 2025, Watson has a 3-2-8 scoring line this season. She has started all but one game on MSU's back line to provide both experience and versatility - she has played all 90 minutes in each of the last four games and nine overall. She has gone all 90 in eight of 11 Big Ten contests.

• Kennedy Bell has three assists over her last three games. Through 17 contests, Bell is tied for the Big Ten lead in assists (9) and ranks third in goals (8), and points (25). A year ago, she led the Big Ten in both points (29) and goals (11) in 25 games.

• Bell's 25 points in 2026 ranks 22nd in a season in the single-season record book - her 29 points (in 25 games) a year ago is 12th. She is averaging 1.47 points per game, which would be just outside the top 10 in the single-season annals. Her nine assists rank eighth all-time in a single season and is her career best. Bell now has 54 points (19g, 14a) in her 42 career games as a Spartan. She is the 24th player in program history to achieve 50 points, ranking 18th in career points and 19th in career goals. Combined with two seasons at Maryland, (78 games), she owns a 22-19-63 career scoring line.

• Kayla Briggs has posted 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. Briggs' career-best nine assists ties for eighth in a single season at MSU (with classmate Kennedy Bell). Her 23 points has matched her career-best point total in 25 games as a junior.

• Briggs was held off the scoresheet vs. Maryland, snapping her streak of seven consecutive games with a point (2-6-10). She has at least a point in nine of MSU's 11 B1G contests and overall on the year has made the scoresheet in 12 of 17 games. She has a 15-16-46 line at MSU, and 20-23-63 in her four-year collegiate career.

• Noelle Henning returned to East Lansing on Sept. 22 after a month as the starting keeper for Canada at the FIFA U20 World Cup. Since her return, she has delivered shutouts in five of her seven games, all in Big Ten play: vs. Washington (9/27), vs. Illinois (10/4), vs. Minnesota (10/8), at Indiana (10/16), and vs. Maryland (10/25).

• Overall on the season, Henning has produced seven shutouts in 10 games. She boasts a 0.600 GAA (second, B1G/ 25th NCAA) and .813 save percentage (fifth, B1G).   Her seven shutouts is seventh among B1G keepers, with the three leaders having nine. She also ranks ninth in MSU's single-season annals.Her 0.600 GA this season is third all-time in an MSU season. The sophomore owns 15 career shutouts, which is seventh all-time in MSU's record book. The school record of 29 is held by Jill Flietstra (2008-11). She had eight shutouts last year, which ranked fifth in a single season.   She now has 21 career victories in Green and White in 31 career games, which ranks 10th all-time while her 1.072 career GAA ranks seventh.   Flietstra earned the program record (0.739).

• Ella Janz returned to the lineup vs. Maryland after missing the previous two games with an injury, giving a boost to MSU's thin midfield. Janz had 2-1-5 in her last four games before missing the last two.   She had the game-winner vs. Washington (9/27), but she was also the hero at Notre Dame (9/3) when her header beat the clock as well as Irish keeper Sonoma Kasica, recording the game-tying goal at 89:56. She is tied for fourth on the team in points (9).

• Bella Najera is the most prolific scorer in the Jeff Hosler era and will eventually leave MSU as one of its top offensive performers in program history. She owns 27 career goals, (10th all time) and her 10th career game-winners is tied for fifth place. The senior ranks ninth in career points (73) and is 12th in career assists (19), but has been asked to play defensively in more situations this season, which has affected her point production. She is tied for fourth on the team in points with a 2-5-9 scoring line in 2026.

• Upperclassmen Mimi Hallier and Jasmine Boggs both returned to the field for the Spartans in last Sunday's game against Maryland. Both were working their way back from injuries: Hallier suffered hers in the B1G Tournament quarterfinals vs. Northwestern last season, while Boggs' injury came in January after transferring to MSU from Tennessee. Hallier logged 21 minutes, and Boggs 15 vs. the Terps.

• Shelby Vaughn earned her first career start last Sunday vs. Maryland, and contributed a career-best 80 minutes. She has a pair of goals this season, and contributed three in 2025. Over the last eight games, she has averaged 37 minutes per.

• Canadian freshmen Lacey Kindel has returned after participating in the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in Morocco. The first-year player has missed six games to Team Canada duties but has averaged better than 31 minutes in the 11 games in which she has appeared. She scored her first collegiate goal vs. Washington (9/27), and also has assists in games vs. Notre Dame (9/3) and at USC (9/10).

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Players Mentioned

Kennedy Bell

Jasmine Boggs

Kayla Briggs

Mimi Hallier

Noelle Henning

Ella Janz

Lacey Kindel

Bella Najera

Emerson Sargeant

Shelby Vaughn

Renee Watson

Michigan State University Athletics