MSU Opens Home Slate Sunday Night vs. Dayton

No. 12/11 Michigan State (0-0-1) vs Dayton (1-0-0 )
Dates/Location	Sunday, August 17 \| 7 pm DeMartin Stadium , East Lansing \| Gameday Information
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office
Promotions	Youth Soccer Day \| Four Seats, Four Treats
Television	none
Webstream	Watch on B1G+
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Dayton
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

The Particulars
• Michigan State continues its opening week - its 40th season of women's soccer - with a game at home against Dayton.

• The game will air live on B1G+. Links for live statistics and the webstream can be found above or on the women's soccer schedule page of MSUSpartans.com.

• This will be the the 17th all-time game between MSU and Dayton. The Spartans own an 8-6-2 advantage in the series, including a four-game unbeaten streak going back to September of 2013. Michigan State is 1-0-1 against the Flyers in the tenure of Jeff Hosler, with a 2-2 draw in the most recent meeting in 2023.

• Dayton secured a 2-0 win over Wright State in its opener on Thursday. Olivia Baca and Liv Grenda had UD's goals, and Batoul Reda made one save in the shutout.

• MSU is 30-6-3 all-time in home openers, and 3-0-1 under Hosler. Dayton will serve as the Spartans' home opener opponent for the second time in program history, also lifting the lid on the 2015 season at DeMartin (a 2-1 MSU victory).

• Sunday's match kicks off a stretch of four straight home contests for the Spartans, a stretch of seven of nine overall that will be played at DeMartin Stadium.

Team Notes
• Michigan State and Colorado played to a 1-1 draw on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. MSU surrendered a goal just three minutes into the game, but then dominated scoring chances for the balance of the contest, particularly in the second half.   MSU outshot its hosts 20-9 overall, and 15-3 in the second half. The Spartans had 10 corners in the second half and 14 in the game, limiting Colorado to one corner in each half.

• Michigan State debuted in the United Soccer Coaches 2024 national poll at No. 12 - its highest preseason ranking in program history. MSU completed the 2024 season at No. 14 after advancing to the NCAA Round of 16. In the Top Drawer Soccer poll, the Spartans come in at No. 11.

• Michigan State is coming off a 2024 season in which it compiled a 14-3-5 overall record, and went 7-1-3 in Big Ten games. MSU finished fourth (25 points), one point out of third place and two out of second. The Spartans claimed Big Ten regular-season titles in 2022 and 2023, and advanced to the Sweet 16 in both 2023 and 2024.

• The Spartans are now 27-8-5 all-time in season-opening games, which includes a 13-season unbeaten streak in lid lifters (11-2-1). MSU's last season-opening loss came in 2011 (3-2 to Milwaukee) - but the Spartans won each of their next eight games after that first-game setback.

• The Spartans lost 28 of 45 total goals and 80 of 134 points from the 2024 team, as well as both keepers who played last season. Michigan State returns 19 players from the 2024 roster, however - and welcome nine new freshmen and two junior transfers.

• In the four-year tenure of MSU head coach Jeff Hosler, MSU owns an overall record of 55-16-15, and is 28-6-6 in Big Ten play. In that stretch, the Spartans own the most B1G victories of the 14 teams who played all four years in the league (two ahead of Rutgers' 26) and the second-most overall wins, behind Penn State's 58. The Green & White is also the only team to finish in the top four of the Big Ten in each of those four seasons.
   Two of the newest members of the Big Ten own 71 (UCLA) and 55 (USC) victories over the last four seasons overall.

• The Spartan schedule features 18 games (plus a home exhibition), 11 home dates, and nine games against opponents who appeared in the final United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll last December. MSU will take the field against nine teams which qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including Notre Dame (No. 2 in the preseason poll); season opening opponent Colorado not only qualified for the tournament, but the unseeded Buffs reached the second round and the Irish advanced to the final eight. Of the nine B1G squads that made the NCAA Tournament field a year ago (including MSU), eight won at least one game, six advanced into the round of 16 and two into the quarterfinals. MSU's strength of schedule for 2025 is seventh nationally.

• MSU's 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 12 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer, with all nine first-year players earning three-star rankings or higher and five players among the top 200 incoming freshmen per the outlet's individual rankings.

• The Spartans ranked fifth nationally in overall (28,397) and sixth in average (2,184) attendance last season. MSU's single-game attendance mark was shattered with 5,145 fans on Oct. 5 against Michigan, making it the sixth-most attended regular-season NCAA women's soccer game in 2024. The MSU-Arkansas game on Aug. 22 drew 3,180 fans, which ranked 30th last year.

Player Notes
• Kennedy Bell broke through with a goal in the 50th minute against Colorado in Thursday's 1-1 draw. She had a good look in the first half, and got the equalizer for MSU in the second frame. It was her first goal as a Spartan and the fourth of her career.

• Bella Najera set up Bell for the Spartan score, her 10th career helper.

•   Najera, Kayla Briggs, and Renee Watson led the Spartan offense in Colorado with four shots each.

•   Najera and senior Maggie Illig appear on the United Soccer Coaches Hermann Trophy Watch List, which was released on Thursday (Aug. 14). The Hermann Trophy is presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club and is the nation's highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year.

• Illig (Second Team) earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches 2025 Preseason Defenders to Watch list and is a returning USC All-North Region Pick, earning a spot on the second team a year ago. She was one of four All-Region picks for MSU at the conclusion of last season, along with Meg Hughes, Kaitlyn Parks, and Third Team All-American Justina Gaynor.

• Illig and Najera (Third Team) are MSU's returning All-Big Ten players from a year ago. Najera led the 2024 squad in goals (8) and her 19 points ranked second on the team a year ago and leads all returnees. She was also identified as one of the United Soccer Coaches Midfielders to Watch.

•   Watson missed a month of the Spartan season in 2024 with the Canadian Women's National Team at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She returned to the team (and the starting lineup) for the Sept. 17 game against Nebraska.

• The Spartans return six players with 16 or more starts last year: Seniors Sofia Beerworth and Illig, juniors Najera and Watson, and sophomores Julia Belli and Kaleigh McPherson. A pair of Spartan starters from 2023 lost their 2024 seasons to injury (Regan Dalton and Emerson Sargeant), and return healthy for the upcoming campaign to provide MSU a solid corps of seasoned veterans with an eye on making a run at their third Big Ten title in three seasons.

• The early-season losses of Regan Dalton and Sargeant a year ago left a hole in the Spartan midfield - Dalton was injured in the first game of the year, and Sargeant in the fifth. Sargeant had a 4-6-14 scoring line as a sophomore and already had four assists to her credit in the first four games of 2024 before suffering the injury.
   Regan Dalton played 70 minutes against Colorado, more than double the minutes she logged before suffering her season-ending injury in the 2024 opener. Sargeant was on the field for 72, and was a handful for the Buffs' defenders.

• Sophomores Belli and McPherson both garnered spots on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team a year ago. Belli started every game as a freshman and McPherson started 16 of the team's final 17 contests. Each had a goal in 22 games.

• Noelle Henning made her collegiate debut as the Spartan keeper vs. Colorado, and made two saves - one in each half.

• In addition to Henning, three other MSU freshmen made their Green & White debut against the Buffaloes: Abbey Dalton, Addison Baldus, and Ava Lutke. Lutke logged the most minutes of the trio, (37).

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Players Mentioned

Addison Baldus

Sofia Beerworth

Kennedy Bell

Julia Belli

Kayla Briggs

Abbey Dalton

Regan Dalton

Justina Gaynor

Noelle Henning

Meg Hughes

Maggie Illig

Ava Lutke

Kaleigh McPherson

Kaitlyn Parks

Emerson Sargeant

Renee Watson