Women's Soccer Hosts Minnesota on Alumni Day

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's soccer heads back on to the field on Sunday, Sept. 26 for a game against Minnesota. The Spartans host the first of two games at DeMartin on Sunday, facing the Golden Gophers at 12 p.m. before the men take on Indiana at 3 p.m. It's also Alumni Day for the women's team, with a celebration for attending alumni taking place at halftime.

The Spartans are 6-1-2 on the season with a 1-1 mark in Big Ten play.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State suffered its first loss of the season on Thursday night, falling 1-0 to Wisconsin on a cold and rainy night in East Lansing.

Despite both teams evenly landing shots and fighting hard on both offense and defense, Wisconsin was able to sneak in a goal at the 34^th minute. Michigan State came up with nine more shot attempts in the second half, five landing on target, but could not come up with the equalizer.

Reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week Lauren Kozal had three saves in the net for the Green & White, allowing just her fourth goal from an opponent this season. Assisting Kozal in the backfield were Samantha White, Abby Gardiner and Raegan Cox, who each saw at least 80 minutes of field time.

NATIONAL AND LEAGUE RECOGNITION
Two Spartans made headlines this week for their performances so far this season.

Raegan Cox was named to the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the week on Tuesday. She played a full 90 minutes on Sunday as part of the Spartan defensive force, anchoring the back line against Indiana's frequent attack. Cox has logged 554 minutes of action so far this season and has appeared in the starting lineup of all eight games.

Also on Tuesday, Lauren Kozal was named the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week. Kozal helped secure a conference-opening win for the Spartans and her fifth shutout of the season at Indiana. Her save percentage of .900 is the second-highest in the league and she has totaled 27 saves so far this season. Second in the conference in shutouts, she has recorded five on the season for a shutout percentage of .625, and has the third-lowest goals against average at .355.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GOPHERS
Minnesota stands at 5-1-3 this season, falling to Wisconsin in their Big Ten opener before defeating Ohio State on Thursday night. They are under the guidance of first-year head coach and former Golden Gopher Erin Chastain.

The stats are almost evenly matched on both sides for this matchup. Michigan State has scored 16 goals this season to Minnesota's 13, and both teams have allowed just four opponent goals over nine matches. The Spartans have totaled 164 shots while the Golden Gophers have 152, with MSU finding slightly more accuracy with 72 shots on goal to Minnesota's 52. The home team has recorded 12 assists and the Golden Gophers have had 11. Goalkeeper Lauren Kozal has 31 saves, and Megan Plashko of Minnesota has tallied 32.

NEXT UP
The Spartans hit the road for back-to-back league matchups next week. They play at Nebraska on Thursday, Sept. 30 and kick off the month of October with a game at Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 3.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Raegan Cox

Abby Gardiner

Lauren Kozal

Samantha White