Michigan State University
Central Michigan
Women's Soccer Closes Exhibition Slate With 2-0 Victory Over CMU
8/13/2018 11:47:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Brittany Tanner and Gia Wahlberg both scored for the Spartans in the win.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State women's soccer got goals from junior Brittany Tanner and freshman Gia Wahlberg, along with a shutout from a trio of goalkeepers in a 2-0 win over Central Michigan in front of 723 Saturday at DeMartin Stadium.
The Spartans finish the exhibition schedule with two victories after defeating Toledo 4-2 on the road Aug. 9.
How It Happened: Both teams traded control of possession for the first 30 minutes before MSU was able to get things going forward and find some offense in the final third.
Sophomore Danielle Stephan took a bending shot from 18 yards out in the 34th minute that just missed giving MSU its first goal, bouncing off the crossbar.
Brittany Tanner would open the scoring in the 42nd minute after she took a beautiful lob pass over the top from Bella Jodzis and beat CMU keeper Morgan Britain 1v1, finishing far post for a 1-0 lead.
"It was a slow first 30 minutes as we were a little sluggish," MSU head coach Tom Saxton said. "Central was a more athletic team than Toledo and they did a really nice job of setting the line of pressure. They responded after the break and we got some good ball movement. I thought Bella played Brittany a great ball in for the first goal and after that we had a good run of play. It was nice to see them fix things after the slow start."
The Spartans got on the scoreboard again in the 63rd minute when junior Sadie Misiewicz played a cross into the box and Gia Wahlberg finished near post beating the second Chippewa keeper Brianna Wallbridge.
Redshirt-junior Reilley Ott, redshirt-freshman Madison Clem and redshirt-sophomore Olivia Argeros combined for a clean sheet, making three saves.
"As we were making changes down the stretch I really wanted to see the shutout stay on the board," Saxton said. "It was good goalkeeping by all three that got a chance today, so that's a positive to build on. We need to get rested and recovered after playing two games in three days and get ready for the real deal coming Friday."
MSU out-shot CMU 12-9, and the Chippewas held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks taken.
Up Next: The Spartans return to DeMartin Stadium Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff against Southern Utah in the first game of the regular season.
