Spartans Open 2022 Slate at Bowling Green

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Michigan State women's soccer begins its 37th season and the second year of the Jeff Hosler era on Thursday, Aug. 18, as the Spartans take on the Bowling Green Falcons in a 7 p.m. kick at Cochrane Stadium.

HEAD COACH JEFF HOSLER SAID…
"There's a lot of excitement around the program right now," Hosler said. "We are coming off of a great fall in 2021, and we have a really hungry group of players who will be ready to go in our season opener on Thursday. We have been able, going into year two, to really establish a culture for a full year. We have been building out what our identity is as a program and what kinds of players we want to bring in. Through our spring season and now into our preseason phase, we've really built out our system of play."

KICKIN' IT
MSU returns to action following a 10-5-3 overall record in the 2021 fall slate highlighted by a 5-4-1 ledger in Big Ten Conference games. The Spartans placed fourth in the league table and dropped a 1-0 decision to fifth-seed Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State is led on the field by reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and United Soccer Coaches All-American Lauren Kozal, in addition to 2021 All-Big Ten second-team selection Samantha White. In a preseason poll of Big Ten coaches, the Spartans were selected to finish sixth in the league table in 2022. Both Kozal and White landed a spot on the conference's Preseason Players to Watch list, with graduate transfer Ruby Diodati also making an appearance.

TURN THE BEAT AROUND
In the first year of Hosler's tenure, Michigan State recorded the largest single-season increase in victories in program history with nine additional wins. MSU turned a one-win 2020-21 slate into 10 victories in the 2021 fall campaign. The Spartans forced 16 more goals and allowed 10 fewer than they did in the previous year. Despite being picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten in 2021, the Green & White landed in the top four of the league table. The team published its best season against conference foes since booking a 7-4-0 record with a third-place finish in 2011.

FACING THE FALCONS
Under the direction of third-year head coach Jimmy Walker, Bowling Green hits the pitch for the first time following an 11-7-3 season that included a first-round exit to Michigan in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Falcons secured the Mid-American Conference regular season championship with an 8-2-1 league ledger and followed it up with the program's fourth-consecutive MAC Tournament Title. BGSU is led by junior forward and 2021 MAC Tournament MVP Lacee Bethea, who finished second on the Falcons' 2021 roster with seven goals scored.

STORY OF THE SERIES: BGSU
Michigan State and Bowling Green meet for the 23rd time in an all-time series that dates back to the 1987 season. The Spartans have historically dominated the Falcons, owning an 18-1-3 edge in the series. MSU owns nine victories at Cochrane Stadium, suffering its only defeat in the series on the road in 1999. Both squads played to a 1-all draw during the 2021 campaign, as junior Zivana Labovic notched the only score for the Green & White with a successful penalty kick in the third minute.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday's season opener will be streamed via ESPN+, as well as broadcast on BCSN throughout the state of Ohio with Brandon Loe and Chris Black calling the action. Authenticated subscribers can access the live simulcast of the game via the ESPN app on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and other connected devices. Live stats provided by Bowling Green State University are available by clicking here.

FOLLOW THE SPARTANS
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State women's soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women's soccer team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WSoccer.

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Players Mentioned

Ruby Diodati

Lauren Kozal

Zivana Labovic

Samantha White