Kozal Named United Soccer Coaches All-American
12/2/2021 1:07:00 PM | General, Women's Soccer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Lauren Kozal of Michigan State women's soccer has been named a United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-American, as announced by the organization Thursday night.
Kozal, a junior goalkeeper from Ada, Mich., has received a number of accolades this postseason for her impressive performance during the fall. Anchoring the Spartan backline in every game this season, she helped the squad to a 10-5-3 overall record, their first 10-win season since 2011. Michigan State finished fourth in the conference and earned the right to host a quarterfinal match of the Big Ten Tournament, the team's first appearance in the postseason since 2011 and first time hosting since 2002.Â
"This national recognition is so deserving for Lauren," Head Coach Jeff Hosler said. "In one of the top conferences in the country, she proved to be up to the challenge every time out."
At the conclusion of the regular season, Kozal was selected First Team All-Big Ten and was named the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year. It was the first-ever Goalkeeper of the Year honor awarded to a member of the Spartans and the first position player of the year for MSU since 2008's Laura Heyboer. She also made Spartan headlines earlier this week along with Ava Cook and Sam White as United Soccer Coaches All-Region athletes. Academically, she was a CoSIDA Academic All-District Selection.Â
She was twice named Goalkeeper of the Week during the season.Â
"Lauren is so talented in many ways," Hosler added. "Her growth in such a short time is a testament to her drive, work ethic, willingness to learn and the environment coach [Megan] Link has helped create with our goalkeepers."
This season, Kozal held the highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the Big Ten (.862). She ranked second in the Big Ten with a goals against average of .0495, allowing just 13 goals to score over 18 games. She also had the second-most saves per game (4.5) and her seven regular-season shutouts were the third-most in the conference.
Kozal is also making her mark in the Spartan record book. Her goals against average tied for the fifth-best in single-season MSU history, and she tied for sixth-most shutouts. In the career record category, she has the sixth-most saves (216) and saves per game (4.36) and is tied for the fifth-most shutouts with 13, numbers that are sure to improve as she continues her career with the Green & White.Â
Read the full United Soccer Coaches release HERE.
Kozal, a junior goalkeeper from Ada, Mich., has received a number of accolades this postseason for her impressive performance during the fall. Anchoring the Spartan backline in every game this season, she helped the squad to a 10-5-3 overall record, their first 10-win season since 2011. Michigan State finished fourth in the conference and earned the right to host a quarterfinal match of the Big Ten Tournament, the team's first appearance in the postseason since 2011 and first time hosting since 2002.Â
"This national recognition is so deserving for Lauren," Head Coach Jeff Hosler said. "In one of the top conferences in the country, she proved to be up to the challenge every time out."
At the conclusion of the regular season, Kozal was selected First Team All-Big Ten and was named the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year. It was the first-ever Goalkeeper of the Year honor awarded to a member of the Spartans and the first position player of the year for MSU since 2008's Laura Heyboer. She also made Spartan headlines earlier this week along with Ava Cook and Sam White as United Soccer Coaches All-Region athletes. Academically, she was a CoSIDA Academic All-District Selection.Â
She was twice named Goalkeeper of the Week during the season.Â
"Lauren is so talented in many ways," Hosler added. "Her growth in such a short time is a testament to her drive, work ethic, willingness to learn and the environment coach [Megan] Link has helped create with our goalkeepers."
This season, Kozal held the highest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the Big Ten (.862). She ranked second in the Big Ten with a goals against average of .0495, allowing just 13 goals to score over 18 games. She also had the second-most saves per game (4.5) and her seven regular-season shutouts were the third-most in the conference.
Kozal is also making her mark in the Spartan record book. Her goals against average tied for the fifth-best in single-season MSU history, and she tied for sixth-most shutouts. In the career record category, she has the sixth-most saves (216) and saves per game (4.36) and is tied for the fifth-most shutouts with 13, numbers that are sure to improve as she continues her career with the Green & White.Â
Read the full United Soccer Coaches release HERE.
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Women's SoccerGreg and Dawn Williams Make Historic $401M Commitment to Michigan State and Spartan Athletics | Dec 5th 2025
Friday, December 05
2025 Varsity S Awards
Monday, September 15
2025 Hall of Fame - Caroline Powers Induction
Monday, September 15
2025 Hall of Fame - Kori Moster Induction
Monday, September 15