Sunday, October 27
East Lansing, Mich.
1 PM
Michigan State University
8-9-1, 1-8-1
2
vs
3
#21 Rutgers
14-2-2, 8-2-1
1
2
F
Rutgers
3
0
3
Michigan St.
2
0
2
Spartan Women’s Soccer Edged by No. 21 Rutgers, 3-2, on Senior Day
10/27/2019 5:07:00 PM | Women's Soccer
MSU concludes the regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. against Indiana.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's soccer was edged by No. 21 Rutgers, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon on Senior Day.
MSU falls to 8-9-1 on the season, with a 1-8-1 mark in conference play. Rutgers improves to 14-2-2 overall and 8-2-1 in Big Ten games.
Prior to the game, Michigan State head coach Tom Saxton and the team honored the 12 seniors for senior day. All 12 seniors were able to see game action to commemorate their dedication to Spartan soccer.
"It's not only what goes on the field, but what goes on in the classroom and in the community – how we treat the people that we encounter," Saxton said. "Whether we're traveling or in classes, we always push our student-athletes to be good people, and this class certainly embodies that. I'm proud of them."
MSU had a 12-10 shot advantage and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
In the first-half, the Spartans were able to notch the first two goals of the game to get out to an early lead at DeMartin Stadium.
"We felt the key to the game was at midfield and the game went for us as our midfield went," Saxton said. "As our midfield started to find each other, they gave us space to play there and we just started to connect. We were able to connect passes, keep possession and open up opportunities. We put good pressure on them and were able to score a couple of really nice goals."
In the 11th minute, junior midfielder Bella Jodzis scored her third goal of the season to give MSU an early lead over the No. 21-ranked Scarlet Knights. Jodzis fired a rocket from just outside the box, going top shelf of the Rutgers net to go up 1-0.
Senior midfielder Michaela Kovacs was able to head the ball in past the Rutgers goalkeeper off a corner kick by Jodzis to go up 2-0 in the 17th minute.
After grabbing an early lead, the Scarlet Knights came storming back, scoring three unanswered goals in the first 45 minutes. Nneka Moneme scored two of Rutgers' three goals, beating redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Lauren Kozal one-on-one in the 23rd minute and on a header in front of the net in the 36th minute.
After the first goal by Moneme, Amirah Ali netted a shot from the right corner of the box less than three minutes later to tie the game at 2-2.
Moneme had the eventual game-winning goal in the 36th minute to put the Scarlet Knights past MSU, 3-2.
In the second half, senior goalkeeper Reilley Ott made the change in net and collected one save for the Spartans.
Throughout the second 45, Michigan State continued to apply pressure to the Rutgers backline and had offensive pushes in its search for an equalizer.
Sophomore forward Gia Wahlberg gave MSU it's best looks of the second half as she tallied two shots on goal.
"We've played very competitive in tight games in the last couple of weeks and we want to walk off the field smiling with a win so we're going to put everything we have into it (on Wednesday)," Saxton said.
UP NEXT: Michigan State will close the season against Indiana at home on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in the regular season finale for both teams. The teams were originally scheduled to play on Sept. 27, but inclement weather caused the game to be postponed.
MSU falls to 8-9-1 on the season, with a 1-8-1 mark in conference play. Rutgers improves to 14-2-2 overall and 8-2-1 in Big Ten games.
Prior to the game, Michigan State head coach Tom Saxton and the team honored the 12 seniors for senior day. All 12 seniors were able to see game action to commemorate their dedication to Spartan soccer.
"It's not only what goes on the field, but what goes on in the classroom and in the community – how we treat the people that we encounter," Saxton said. "Whether we're traveling or in classes, we always push our student-athletes to be good people, and this class certainly embodies that. I'm proud of them."
MSU had a 12-10 shot advantage and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
In the first-half, the Spartans were able to notch the first two goals of the game to get out to an early lead at DeMartin Stadium.
"We felt the key to the game was at midfield and the game went for us as our midfield went," Saxton said. "As our midfield started to find each other, they gave us space to play there and we just started to connect. We were able to connect passes, keep possession and open up opportunities. We put good pressure on them and were able to score a couple of really nice goals."
In the 11th minute, junior midfielder Bella Jodzis scored her third goal of the season to give MSU an early lead over the No. 21-ranked Scarlet Knights. Jodzis fired a rocket from just outside the box, going top shelf of the Rutgers net to go up 1-0.
Senior midfielder Michaela Kovacs was able to head the ball in past the Rutgers goalkeeper off a corner kick by Jodzis to go up 2-0 in the 17th minute.
After grabbing an early lead, the Scarlet Knights came storming back, scoring three unanswered goals in the first 45 minutes. Nneka Moneme scored two of Rutgers' three goals, beating redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Lauren Kozal one-on-one in the 23rd minute and on a header in front of the net in the 36th minute.
After the first goal by Moneme, Amirah Ali netted a shot from the right corner of the box less than three minutes later to tie the game at 2-2.
Moneme had the eventual game-winning goal in the 36th minute to put the Scarlet Knights past MSU, 3-2.
In the second half, senior goalkeeper Reilley Ott made the change in net and collected one save for the Spartans.
Throughout the second 45, Michigan State continued to apply pressure to the Rutgers backline and had offensive pushes in its search for an equalizer.
Sophomore forward Gia Wahlberg gave MSU it's best looks of the second half as she tallied two shots on goal.
"We've played very competitive in tight games in the last couple of weeks and we want to walk off the field smiling with a win so we're going to put everything we have into it (on Wednesday)," Saxton said.
UP NEXT: Michigan State will close the season against Indiana at home on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in the regular season finale for both teams. The teams were originally scheduled to play on Sept. 27, but inclement weather caused the game to be postponed.
Team Stats
RU
MSU
Goals
3
2
Shots
10
12
Shots on Goal
4
5
Saves
3
1
Corners
2
6
Fouls
5
7
Scoring Plays
Gabriala Jodzis (1)
shot outside of box
11:56
Michaela Kovacs (1)
Assisted By: Gabriala Jodzis
header off corner by #9
17:39
Nneka Moneme (2)
Assisted By: Taylor Aylmer
beat GK one-on-one
23:11
Amirah Ali (1)
Assisted By: Brittany LaPlant
shot from right corner of box
26:05
Nneka Moneme (2)
Assisted By: Taylor Aylmer , Emily Harrigan
header by #15 from corner kick spot
36:03
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's SoccerM/D
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerF
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