MSU Opens Big Ten Play with Road Matchups at Ohio State and No. 23 Penn State

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's soccer begins Big Ten play this week on the road with matchups at Ohio State and at No. 23 Penn State. MSU will travel to Columbus, Ohio for the Big Ten opener on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m., in a game that will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network. MSU will face the No. 23-ranked Nittany Lions to close the opening week of conference play on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m.

The Spartans head into the first week of Big Ten play with a 7-1-0 record through non-conference play and are riding a three-game win streak.

LAST TIME OUT
The Spartans closed out non-conference play last week with wins over Bowling Green in overtime, 3-2, and a road shutout over Oakland, 2-0.

In the 17th minute, freshman forward Paige Webber got the Spartans on the board first, with what would end up being the game-winner.

So far this season, Webber has two game-tying goals to force overtime and a game winning goal.

Sophomore forward Camryn Evans netted her third of the season with five minutes to play to seal the victory for Michigan State on the road.

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Lauren Kozal earned her third career shutout and seventh win of the season. Kozal had two saves to blank the Golden Grizzlies on their home turf.

WEBBER NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
After a three point performance last week (2g, 1a) in the Spartans' sweep of Bowling Green and Oakland, Webber was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

This is the fifth time a Michigan State women's soccer player has won Big Ten Freshman of the Week since the conference office added the weekly award in 2009. The last Spartan to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week was Hannah Jones on Oct. 4, 2016.

WAHLBERG CONTINUES TO SHINE
Gia Wahlberg continues to shine on the Spartan offense, scoring the game winner in overtime against Bowling Green. This was Wahlberg's second overtime goal this season, with the first in double OT vs. Boston University on Sept. 1.

Her four first-half goals vs. Marshall on Aug. 25 set a record for the most goals in a first-half at DeMartin Stadium, while the five total Spartan goals ties a record for most goals in a game and the most goals scored at DeMartin Stadium. The forward also tied the Big Ten record for most goals in a game, which only 12 other Big Ten players have achieved, including former Spartan Lauren Hill.

Overall, Wahlberg leads the team with 16 points, 16 shots on goal and four game winning goals this season.

SPARTANS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Wahlberg and Stephan are both ranked nationally in total goals and total assists, respectively.

With her eight goals this season, Wahlberg leads the Big Ten and is tied for seventh nationally in total goals scored. Wahlberg has scored the most goals by a Spartan in a single-season since Jamie Cheslik also scored eight goals during the 2014 season. She is also tied for first nationally with four-game winning goals.

Stephan has a team-high five assists in the first eight games, which is first in the Big Ten and tied for 13th nationally. Stephan led the Spartans in assists for the past two seasons, tallying six in 2017 and four last season.

MICHIGAN STATE NOTES
MSU's seven non-conference wins are the most since 2011 when the team also went 7-1 in non-conference play to begin the season.

The Spartans have had seven different goal scorers through the first eight matches. The seven goal scorers tops last season's numbers, with there only being six goal scorer through all 18 games in 2018.

With an undefeated 5-0 record at home to start the season, the Spartans are off to their best start since the 2009 season when the team started 6-0 at DeMartin Stadium.

After not recording an overtime win in the past two seasons, MSU has two overtime wins in the first eight games. Michigan State is 2-0-0 in overtime games this season.

Through eight games, the Spartans have 20 total goals, which ties for 19th in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten. The 20 goals are already the most in a season since 2014 when the team scored 24 total goals.

MSU leads opponents in shots on goal (59-34), shots per game (13.8-9.5), corners (39-29) and total goals (20-8) through eight games.

SPARTAN BACKLINE STANDS STRONG
The Spartan backline has three shutouts through non-conference play and has only allowed eight goals. Samantha White, Kassidy Madrigal, Bria Schrotenboer and Michaela Kovacs have all been anchors on the backline through eight games.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State goes into the 25th meeting with Michigan State holding a 14-10-0 series advantage. The last meeting was a one-goal decision, that ended with a Buckeye road win at DeMartin, 1-0, on Oct. 7, 2018.

After not getting a win in the first five games, the Buckeyes hold a two-game win streak after posting wins over Miami (OH) and Ohio University last week.

Two of the team's losses in non-conference play were to ranked opponents and were decided by one goal. The Buckeyes fell to No. 13 Texas A&M, 1-0, and No. 24 TCU, 3-2, both on the road.

Ohio State is led by sophomore forward Kayla Fischer, who leads the team with nine points, tallying three goals and three assists, through seven games. Fischer had the team's game winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Miami (OH) on Sept .13. The Buckeyes were picked fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll and include a MAC Hermann Trophy watch list nominee, defender Izzy Rodriguez.

SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
The Nittany Lions hold a 21-5-0 all-time record over the Spartans through the first 25 meetings, outscoring MSU 56-22. Last season, Penn State won a one-goal decision in East Lansing, 2-1, on Oct. 5.

Penn State was picked as the preseason Big Ten favorite and has been selected to win the conference every season since 2003.

Senior Kaleigh Riehl and juniors Sam Coffey and Frankie Tagliaferri were named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list in August. The three Nittany Lions were all named first team All-Americans last season.

Redshirt-freshman midfielder Ally Schlegel leads PSU with six goals and one assist for 13 points through eight games.

The Nittany Lions will host Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 19, before hosting the Spartans on Sunday.

SAXTON SAYS

"(We need to) understand how the intensity will be raised now. We talked about the big stage, opening night for Big Ten soccer coverage on BTN, part of a double-header, against a very strong Ohio State team. It's a good opportunity to take another step forward as a team; the key is to be ready. We talked about the pace of play in the Big Ten, the time windows are shortening now; you have to be composed but ready to play quickly, defend quickly, transition moments – Everything is going faster now."

MSU Opens Big Ten Play with Road Matchups at Ohio State and No. 23 Penn State

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Players Mentioned

Jamie Cheslik

Camryn Evans

Hannah Jones

Michaela Kovacs

Lauren Kozal

Kassidy Madrigal

Bria Schrotenboer

Gia Wahlberg

Paige Webber

Samantha White