Spartans Honor Seniors, Welcome Loyola For Midweek Matchup

No. 5/6 Michigan State (1-0) vs. Loyola (1-1)
Dates/Location	Wednesday, Aug. 19 \| 7:30 pm DeMartin Stadium, East Lansing, Mich. \| Gameday Information
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office
Promotions	Senior Day
Webstream	B1G+
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Loyola
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

The Starting XI

What you need to know about Spartan women's soccer

• No. 5/6 Michigan State continues its non-conference slate at DeMartin Stadium on Wednesday against Loyola (Chicago). The Spartan soccer class of 2026 will be honored in a pregame ceremony.

• Loyola enters Wednesday's game with a 1-1 record. The Ramblers are under the tutelage of second-year head coach Jon Sandoval, who guided Loyola to a 9-4-6 overall record in 2025.

• The all-time series between the squads is in favor of the Spartans, 8-0-0. There has only been one meeting in the last 15 years, a 1-0 MSU win in 2024.

• MSU ranks No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches/IWSOC survey and is up one spot to No. 6 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. The No. 5 ranking is the highest for the Spartans since the final week of September 2024, when they earned the No. 1 ranking. MSU was also ranked No. 4 and No. 5 in that poll during the 2024 season.

• MSU played just one game last week, delivering a 2-0 victory over [RV] Xavier at home. MSU scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half - from usual suspects Kayla Briggs and Kennedy Bell - to secure the win. Noelle Henning made five stops in the shutout victory.

• The Spartans return 47 goals and 36 assists from last year's offense that ranked first in the Big Ten and 18th nationally. Ten starters are back for MSU, including four of MSU's five All-Big Ten selections a year ago and three of four All-Region /All-America selections.

• MSU boasted four of the Big Ten's top 10 scorers in 2025, and all four return to the roster this year: Kennedy Bell (29, 1st), Kayla Briggs (23, 3rd), Bella Najera (21, T-8th), and Emerson Sargeant (19, T-10th). Briggs and Bell kickstarted the Spartan offense this year with a goal each against Xavier, while senior Ella Janz contributed an assist on Bell's goal.

• Bell was the 2025 Big Ten regular-season scoring champion both overall (29 points, 34th NCAA) and in Big Ten games (16 points). She led the team with 11 goals (39th nationally) and points, and shared the team lead in assists (70) with Briggs. Briggs was second on the team with 23 points and tied for second in goals (8) in her first season in Green and White. She led the team with five game-winning goals (24th nationally) and converted both of her PK attempts.

• Sargeant and Najera, who have played their entire careers in Green & White, are closing in on some Spartan records. In addition to their scoring prowess, both are on the cusp of moving into MSU's all-time leaders in both games played and started. Sargeant enters Wednesday's game with 66 starts in 72 career games, while Najera has started 65 of her 70. The record in both categories is 90 games, held by Samantha White (2018-22).

• Najera boasts 64 career points, which finds her 12th in the Spartan career annals. She has 25 career goals (12th), and she is tied for 22nd in program history in career assists (14). Sargeant's 16 career assists put her in a tie for 15th all-time in the MSU record book; she owns a 12-16-40 career scoring mark.

• Keeper Noelle Henning began her sophomore campaign with a five-save shutout against Xavier. She started 21 games a year ago and owned a 1.30 GAA, .738 save percentage, and 13-4-4 overall record. She made a career-best seven saves in the NCAA Tournament game vs. Colorado and pitched her eighth shutout of the season in the second round of NCAA's against Wake Forest. Her eight clean sheets in 2026 ranked in a tie for fifth-best in a single season at MSU, and the nine in her career rank 11th all-time.

Michigan State University Athletics

Spartans Honor Seniors, Welcome Loyola For Midweek Matchup

The Starting XI

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Players Mentioned

Kennedy Bell

Kayla Briggs

Noelle Henning

Ella Janz

Bella Najera

Emerson Sargeant

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