No. 2/3 Spartans Host No. 12/7 Colorado in NCAA Rematch

No. 3/4 Michigan State (3-0-1) vs. No. 12/7 Colorado (3-0-1)
Dates/Location	Sunday, Aug. 30 \| 11 am DeMartin Stadium, East Lansing, Mich. \| Gameday Information
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office
Promotions	Red Cedar Rowdies Weekend \| See all Promotions
Television	Big Ten Network \| Stream on the Fox Sports App
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Colorado
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

The Starting XI

What you need to know about Spartan women's soccer

• An NCAA Tournament rematch is on the Sunday docket as No. 3/4 Michigan State plays host to No. 12/7 Colorado. The teams met twice in 2025, the first a 1-1 tie in the season opener in Boulder. In November, MSU eliminated Colorado in the NCAA Sweet 16, 2-1.

• Danny Sanchez has patrolled the Colorado sideline for 15 years, producing a 165-90-43 record. Colorado is 3-0-1 on the season. Its most recent game was Thursday at Western Michigan, where the teams played to a 0-0 draw. The Buffs outshot WMU 12-8, with a 7-3 edge in shots on goal.

• MSU enters the game at 3-0-1 on the season, playing to a 0-0 draw on Thursday at home against Eastern Michigan. The Spartans did not allow a single shot attempt, and hit the crossbar and the post among their 22 shot attempts.

• MSU earned 2-0 and 1-0 victories over [RV] Xavier and Loyola to start 2026 and last opened the season with back-to-back shutouts in 2022, against Bowling Green (2-0) and Cincinnati (0-0). The Spartans added a third clean sheet on Thursday and have allowed just two goals on the year - one in each half at North Carolina.

• The Spartans have welcomed home crowds of 1,200+ fans for all of their home games this year, which includes 2,927 for the doubleheader on Thursday.

• MSU had three names on the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List on Wednesday (8/26): Kennedy Bell, Kayla Briggs, and Emerson Sargeant. Bell and Sargeant were named to the Forwards to Watch list, while Briggs was named to the Midfielders to Watch list. Duke leads the nation with four players on the list, while MSU and Colorado each have three.

• Senior Bella Najera scored on a free kick for the game-winner at North Carolina. It was her first score of the year and the 26th of her career, moving her into a tie for 11th all-time at MSU. She now has 66 career points, which is 12th among MSU's all-time leading scorers. She sits tied for 22nd in program history in career assists (14) and her nine career game-winning goals is eighth all-time. Najera had a brace in the NCAA game against Colorado last year, scoring in the opening minute and then converting a PK in the 56th.

• Bella Schopp earned her first shutout as a Spartan (and the 12th of her career) against Eastern Michigan (8/27). She was a four-year letterwinner at Brown before enrolling at MSU this fall, playing 42 games over four seasons, with a 0.97 career GAA and .737 save percentage. She helped Brown to an Ivy title as a freshman.

• Kennedy Bell is the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. She scored a pair of goals at North Carolina while playing in her home state for the first time in her college career. Bell is currently tied for sixth in the B1G in goals (3) and tied for 10th in points (6).

• Kayla Briggs has gone a full 90 minutes in two of MSU's four games (and played 79 in the two others). The senior had the game-winning goal in each of MSU's first two contests (2nd B1G, 6th nationally). She led the squad in that category a year ago with five (fourth all-time in a single season at MSU).

• Emerson Sargeant had the primary assist on Bell's second goal at UNC, a nifty over-her-head flip behind her to a rushing Bell to finish a play started by Mackenzie Kruer. It was her first assist of the season and pushed her career total to 17. She is now tied with Danielle Stephan (2017-21) for 14th all-time at MSU.

The Starting XI

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Players Mentioned

Kennedy Bell

Kayla Briggs

Mackenzie Kruer

Bella Najera

Emerson Sargeant

Bella Schopp

Michigan State University Athletics