Spartan Women’s Soccer Tangles With Nebraska Thursday

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's soccer will open the home portion of the Spartans' 2021 season by taking on Nebraska on Thursday, Feb. 25 at Schoolcraft College. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET.

Due to current Michigan State University restrictions, no fans will be allowed at Schoolcraft College, only family members of the student-athletes and staff. Live stats will be available at MSUSpartans.com.

"It is unusual but it does provide another opportunity to be resilient and able to adapt, which are a couple of the themes we have continued to emphasize," MSU head coach Tom Saxton said. "It is also a chance for the team to play in front of some of their family members, which we know means a lot to them."

The Spartans are 0-0-1 on the young season after playing to a 1-1 draw last Saturday, Feb. 20, at Maryland. Due to inclement weather in Maryland, the game was moved from the grass of Ludwig Field to the turf of Capital Field at Maryland Stadium.

MSU and UMD played to a scoreless first half, getting used to the new field. The Spartans broke through with a goal in the 63rd minute with a firecracker of a shot from junior forward Gia Wahlberg. The Terrapins tied it up in the 89th minute with the equalizer goal, and neither team scored in the extra session.

"The Maryland game gave us a good foundation to build from," Saxton said. "I thought in general we were very solid, we just need more consistency in our final third decision-making on attack and a more consistent commitment to defensive shape when our opponent has the ball."

Michigan State faces a Nebraska team that also played to a draw in the opening match, as the Huskers tied Minnesota on Feb. 21 in Minneapolis. Goalkeeper Makinzie Short made two saves in the match to preserve the clean sheet.

Nebraska returns 15 letterwinners from the 2019 season that saw the Huskers post a 4-10-4 overall record and 3-6-2 in Big Ten action, tying for eighth in the league standings, but missed out on the B1G Tournament via a tiebreaker. In this season's preseason B1G coaches poll, Nebraska was picked ninth.

In the all-time series history, the Huskers hold a slim, 4-3-1, lead over the Spartans. Michigan State and Nebraska first met on Sept. 30, 2011, with a 1-0 victory for MSU, part of the Spartans' two-game win streak in the series. The Huskers have won the last three meetings, including the last match-up, Oct. 24, 2018, 2-0 at Nebraska.

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Players Mentioned

Gia Wahlberg