Michigan State University
1-4-1, 1-4-1
Michigan
3-1-2, 3-1-2
Team Stats
Sydney Shepherd (2)
Assisted By: Raleigh Loughman
GOAL by MICH Shepherd, Sydney Assist by Loughman, Raleigh.
15:47
Paige Webber (1)
Assisted By: Camryn Evans
GOAL by MSU Webber, Paige Assist by Evans, Camryn.
25:25
Sammi Woods (2)
GOAL by MICH Woods, Sammi.
26:55
Zivana Labovic (2)
Assisted By: Gabriala Jodzis
GOAL by MSU Labovic, Zivana Assist by Jodzis, Gabriala.
61:22
Kacey Lawrence (2)
GOAL by MICH Lawrence, Kacey.
65:59
Meredith Haakenson (2)
Assisted By: Nicki Hernandez
GOAL by MICH Haakenson, Meredith Assist by Hernandez, Nicki.
70:05
Nicki Hernandez (4)
Assisted By: Jayde Riviere
GOAL by MICH Hernandez, Nicki Assist by Riviere, Jayde.
71:11
Meredith Haakenson (2)
Assisted By: Sammi Woods
GOAL by MICH Haakenson, Meredith Assist by Woods, Sammi.
80:25
Nicki Hernandez (4)
Assisted By: Meredith Haakenson
GOAL by MICH Hernandez, Nicki Assist by Haakenson, Meredith.
82:16
Alexandra Thomas
MSU Alexandra Thomas PENALTY KICK GOAL.
85:18
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Spartan Women’s Soccer Falls to Michigan Friday
3/12/2021 3:49:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Spartans falls to 1-4-1 this season, having dropped four-straight games. Michigan improves to 3-1-2 overall and have won two-straight games.
"I think that the fight was there. We continue to scratch and claw all the way until the end. We are just pretty decimated with injuries in our backline, and Michigan has a very good attacking team. While we had moments where we were doing what we needed to be doing to keep the pressure off our backline, we weren't able to sustain it, and it is really that simple," MSU head coach Tom Saxton said.
The Wolverines struck first in the 16th minute when Sydney Shepherd scored her second goal of the season. Shepherd took the ball from Raleigh Loughman and snuck the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Kozal.
Michigan State found the equalizer in the 26th minute with sophomore forward Paige Webber's first goal of the season. Junior forward Camryn Evans found Webber to tie the score at 1-1. A little over a minute later Sammi Woods' unassisted goal put U-M back up 2-1.
At the end of the first half, the Wolverines out-shot the Spartan 13-2. Kozal battled hard in the half, making five saves in the first half alone.
Michigan State battled hard in the second half, but the injuries in the Spartan backline took its toll.
"It is heartbreaking for us as a staff because they are showing so much courage, working through pain and continuing to try to bounce back. No one showed any sign of quit out there. At the end of the day, physically it got the best of them. We have to stay right mentally and that is what we have to focus on, we will continue to look for moves we can make to sure things up," Tom Saxton said.
For the second time in the game, MSU found the equalizer. The Spartans made it a 2-2 game when freshman defender Zivana Labovic took a Bella Jodzis pass for her second goal of the season.
From there, the Wolverines took control, scoring five goals during a 17-minute span to put the game out of reach. Senior forward Alexandra Thomas converted a penalty kick to make it a 7-3 game.
Michigan State will conclude its season-long five-game road swing next week. The Spartans take on Indiana in Bloomington on Wednesday, March 17, before facing Purdue on Sunday, March 21 in West Lafayette.
"We have talked about being flexible and being resilient throughout the season, and we are certainly grateful to be able to play soccer games. We remind them of that pretty much every day, but I think the accumulation of the number of games in a short window and playing on turf both indoors and out probably takes an extra toll. Grass is just more forgiving, so we are looking forward to getting on a natural surface down the stretch," Tom Saxton said.