Watson, Henning Help Spartans to 1-0 Win at Michigan

Ann Arbor, Mich. – No. 18 Michigan State kept its unbeaten streak alive with a 1-0 win on the road at Michigan on Thursday night. The Spartans remain in the Big Ten title hunt with a 4-0-3 record in Conference play (7-2-5 overall).

MSU set an early tone with a goal with just 1:50 expired when Emerson Sargeant's pass went to Renee Watson for the junior's fourth goal of the season. After 45 minutes, the Wolverines held a 6-3 edge in attempts and 3-1 in shots on the cage – but Henning was up to the task.

The second half continued to be physical, but as the game clock moved below 30 minutes, the Spartans began getting some additional offensive looks. MSU had all five of its second-period shots in the final third of the game. The Wolverines did have back to back corners with three minutes to go, but neither led to a shot attempt and the Spartans maintained control and kept the home team from being able to stage a late equalizer.

SCORING

1' –MSU 1, UM 0: Sofia Beerworth took the throw-in and put the ball right on the feet of Emerson Sargeant, who turned on it and looked toward the goal cage. She threaded a pass across the box between two Michigan defenders and found Renee Watson, who's left-footed shot found the bottom right corner of the goal cage.

MATCH NOTES

MSU remains unbeaten since the beginning of Big Ten play (4-0-3) and is 7-2-5 overall. Michigan falls to 5-7-2, 2-2-3 B1G.
The series between the two archrivals now tips ever so slightly in favor of the Spartans, with a 17-16-7 record. The Wolverines are now 10-6-3 against the Spartans in Ann Arbor, and MSU has won each of the last four games between the squads.
MSU scored the first goal of the game for the sixth time in 14 games. The Spartans are 4-0-1 in games in which they tally the first score.
Michigan had 20 fouls to MSU's 10, and each team had three yellow cards.
Renee Watson scored her career-best fourth goal of the season in the opening two minutes of the game.
Emerson Sargeant's assist on Watson's first goal was her second assist of the season.
Noelle Henning had four saves on the night, including three in the first half.

UP NEXT
The Spartans head to Iowa for a Sunday showdown with the Hawkeyes. The game starts at 2 pm ET/1 pm ET.

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Team Stats

Renee Watson

Emerson Sargeant

Regan Dalton

Adelle Francis

Players Mentioned

Sofia Beerworth

Noelle Henning

Emerson Sargeant

Renee Watson