Spartans Topped by No. 15 Notre Dame, 2-1, Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's fell to No. 15 Notre Dame, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium.

MSU falls to 4-2-0 (0-0-0 B1G) with the loss, while Notre Dame moves to 3-0-2 (0-0-0 ACC).

"Notre Dame is incredibly athletic. I thought we did an incredible job. That is one of the best pressing teams in the country," said head coach Jeff Hosler. "We showed incredible resolve, patience and composure in our build up. In the first half we just weren't dangerous enough. We didn't get ourselves the ball in a dangerous enough way. We did a much better job in the second half. I liked the way that our team grew into the game."

Notre Dame led the shot count, 10-8, and held a narrow 4-3 shots on goal advantage. MSU held an 8-4 corner kick advantage.

The opening minutes proved to be a defensive battle with Notre Dame recording the only shot of the first 10 minutes. The Fighting Irish netted the icebreaker in the 10th minute when Notre Dame's Ellie Ospeck scored on a pass from Leah Klenke.

A back-and-forth defensive battle continued throughout the remainder of the first half. MSU's first scoring opportunity of the game came in 36th minute with senior midfielder Justina Gaynor's shot off a corner kick to the left corner of the net, but the Notre Dame goalkeeper corralled the shot to send the squads to halftime with a 1-0 Notre Dame lead.

The MSU offense roared to life in the second half, as second scoring opportunity for the Spartans came early with senior forward Mackenzie Anthony's header off a corner hitting the crossbar in the 47th minute to force a Notre Dame scramble.

After an MSU yellow card, Notre Dame doubled its lead in the 51st minute when the Irish's Maddie Mercado scored on a pass from Ospeck. Notre Dame threatened with another on-target shot in the 62nd minute, but the shot was saved by MSU goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks to keep Irish lead at 2-0.

MSU began to dominate the possession battle following the Notre Dame goal. Junior forward Jordyn Wickes registered a pair of chances in the 67th and 68th minutes, respectively, including a shot towards the bottom left center of the net to force another Notre Dame save, but was unable to cut into the Irish lead. Still threatening, senior forward Ranya Senhaji registered a fourth MSU shot 71st minute before the MSU defense fended off three Notre Dame scoring opportunities in the following minutes.

Wickes found the back of the net from six yards out in the 88th minute, heading in a corner kick from Gaynor to cut into the Irish lead in half in the closing minutes. MSU continued its offensive pressure in the final two minutes with a pair of corner kicks but was unable to find the equalizer.

Parks played the full 90 minutes in goal for the Spartans and recorded two saves in the loss. Notre Dame goalkeeper Ashley Naylor also recorded two saves in 90 minutes of play for the win. Wickes' goal marked her fourth of the season.

"I think we learned we can dig a little deeper and we have more to give," concluded Hosler. When we do, we can play with anyone in the country."

Up next, Michigan State travels to Raleigh, North Carolina, for its final non-conference road game of the season at NC State on Thursday, Sept. 7. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

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Team Stats

Jordyn Wickes

Justina Gaynor

Ranya Senhaji

Mackenzie Anthony

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Anthony

Justina Gaynor

Kaitlyn Parks

Ranya Senhaji

Jordyn Wickes

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Anthony

Justina Gaynor

Kaitlyn Parks

Ranya Senhaji

Jordyn Wickes