Spartans Travel to Face Illini Saturday

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State women's soccer team takes to the road for a single Big Ten Conference matchup this week at Illinois. The Spartans (5-3-3, 0-2-2 B1G) look to move up the standings with a victory ovr the Illini (6-5-0, 1-3-0 B1G).

KICKOFF
The Spartans take on the Illinois Fighting Illini Saturday at Illinois Soccer Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. eastern time. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus.

COUNTING CAMS
Camryn Evans, a true freshman from Fenton, Michigan, is making the most of her first season as a Spartan. The forward leads the Big Ten in goals per game at 0.70, and is tied for the conference lead in goals scored (7). She is tied for third in the country among freshmen with seven put away, trailing only Middle Tennessee's Hannah Tillett (9) and a trio with eight goals scored, including Louisville's Maisie Whitsett, Mercer's Abigail Zoeller, and Grambling's Kailey Pena. Evans ranks second in the conference in shot accuracy (0.609), fourth in points per game (1.40), and sixth in the Big Ten in total points with 14.

MICHIGAN STATE NOTES
Goalkeeper Reilley Ott sits 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten Conference in shutouts (6), while also currently coming in third in saves per game (4.73). Ott ranks second in the conference and 18th nationally in goalkeeper minutes played with 1,053 spent on the field. She is second in the conference with 52 total saves and third in saves per game at 4.73. Camryn Evans and junior Sadie Misiewicz are tied for fifth in the conference with two game-winning goals a piece. The Spartans rank second in the conference in save percentage (0.825), and third in shutout percentage (0.545). Offensively, MSU is second in the Big Ten in shot accuracy at 0.536.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois (6-5-0, 1-3-0 B1G) are coming off a 2-1 overtime defeat in Champaign against No. 20 Penn State, following a 2-0 loss to Ohio State on Sept. 20. The Fighting Illini rank second in the conference with 23 goals this season, a number that currently ranks 28th in the country. Illinois has tallied 65 points, and average 2.09 goals per game to sit third in the Big Ten. 11 different players have scored in 2018, led by Katie Murray with four put to the back of the net, to go along with three assists. Murray leads the team with 11 points scored this season. Hope Breslin, Kelly Maday and Makena Silber have each recorded three goals for the Illini.

SAXTON SAYS
We need to be hungry for three points heading into Saturday. We feel like we're matching up, we're competitive, and we just need to find a way now. It takes learning from our past and playing a complete game. Illinois is a tough place to play, but I like our chances because I like this team. The confidence is still there and we know nothing is easy. We talked Monday about the fact everything is earned and nothing is given. We need to go down there and earn it. The single game weekend came at a good time because we've been able to do a little extra prep this week.

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Players Mentioned

Camryn Evans

Sadie Misiewicz

Reilley Ott