Spartans Set for B1G Home Opener Against Iowa

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's soccer opens with the first half of its weekend homestand on Thursday, Sept. 22, as the Spartans return to DeMartin Stadium to host the Iowa Hawkeyes in a 7 p.m. kick on Old College Field.

HEAD COACH JEFF HOSLER SAID…
"I think that our players are pretty emotionally charged for this match because of the way the season ended last year," Hosler said. "I think everyone also knows that the team who is best prepared and executes the game plan will see the best results. For us, we have to be true to our identity; moving the ball well and pulling players out of positions away from goal. We need to create chances and capitalize while being really good in transition defensively, because Iowa gets forward quickly. They will also be really organized defensively, so it's going to take an all-out team effort on Thursday."

KICKIN' IT
The Spartans are back in action following the first instance of back-to-back hat tricks by different players in program history. Graduate forward Camryn Evans led the way in a 4-2 upset of No. 19 Colorado on Sept. 11, while senior forward Lauren DeBeau scored all three in the 3-0 Big Ten-opening win over Illinois on Sept. 18. Michigan State has seen a quartet of players land a total of five Big Ten women's soccer weekly honors, one shy of MSU's program record for a season. Lauren DeBeau took home Offensive Player of the Week most recently for the Green & White on Sept. 20.

HOSTING THE HAWKEYES
Head Coach Dave Dilanni brings Iowa to East Lansing boasting a 3-4-2 overall record with an 0-1 start to Big Ten play following a 3-1 home loss to Wisconsin last week. In the preseason Big Ten Coaches Poll, the Hawkeyes were tabbed as the No. 8 team in the league following a 12-6-2 season in 2021 with a 5-4-1 ledger in B1G games. Junior midfielder Kyndal Anderson and senior midfielder Hailey Rydberg lead the Iowa roster in scoring with seven points apiece this year. Anderson paces the squad with three goals, while Rydberg is the team's foremost facilitator with a trio of assists. Senior goalkeeper Monica Wilhelm handles the responsibilities in net for the Hawkeyes, booking seven starts with 23 saves so far in 2022.

STORY OF THE SERIES: IOWA
Michigan State and Iowa meet for the 27th time in an all-time series which dates to the 1997 campaign. The Green & White maintain a 12-9-5 record against the Hawkeyes and have matched Iowa with three wins apiece in the last six matchups. The Spartans have built a 7-4-3 edge in games played at DeMartin Stadium but have dropped each of the past two contests at home. MSU's most recent win over Iowa came on Oct. 3, 2021, when the Spartans came away with a crucial 2-1 Big Ten victory that propelled Michigan State to host its first postseason contest since 2002. Iowa leveled the in-season series last year, toppling MSU 1-0 in the Big Ten Tournament.

DEMARTIN GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Click the link here to be redirected to the ticket purchasing page for Thursday evening's contest against Iowa. General admission tickets are available now online and at the gate beginning one hour before kick. Tickets for individual adults are available for $5, while individual youth and senior tickets are available for $3. All Michigan State students will be granted free admission to the game with a valid MSU ID. Children under the age of 8 will be admitted for free. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 1-800-GO-STATE. Gates will open one hour before the start of the game.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday's Big Ten home opener will be streamed live to a worldwide audience via B1G+, with Zach Surdenik, Veronica Bolanos and Bryan Rector calling the action. Authenticated subscribers can access the live simulcast of each game via the B1G+ app on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and other connected devices. Live stats via StatBroadcast are available 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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lauren DeBeau

Camryn Evans