B1G Home Slate Opens Thursday vs. UCLA

Michigan State (3-2-3, 0-0-1) vs No. 4 UCLA (5-2-0, 1-0 B1G )
Dates/Location	Thursday, Sept. 18 \| 8 pm DeMartin Stadium , East Lansing \| Gameday Information
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office
Promotions	Glow Green \| Promotional Information
Television	Big Ten Network
Webstream	Fox Sports App
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| UCLA
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

** Please note that there are volleyball games in Jenison Field House on Thursday in addition to the soccer match - fans are reminded to utilize Kellogg Center, IM West, or Breslin Center for parking and to allow extra time to reach DeMartin Stadium on time for kickoff**

The Particulars
• Michigan State welcomes No. 4 UCLA to East Lansing for the first-ever meeting of the two teams. The Bruins are the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten.

• Thursday's game will air live on Big Ten Network, with Kylen Mills and Jackie Manny on the call. Links for webstreams, live statistics, game previews and more can be found above and also on the schedule page at MSUSpartans.com.

• UCLA was one of just four teams to take a win out of the opening week of Big Ten play, defeating Oregon 2-0. Five games finished in ties, including MSU's 1-1 draw on the road at Rutgers.

Team Notes
• The Spartans fell behind in the first half on the road in Piscataway, but a Bella Najera goal in the 66th minute knotted the score in MSU's 1-1 tie at Rutgers last Friday. Freshman keeper Kennedy Zorn drew the start and made three saves.

• MSU outshot Rutgers 14-11 overall, and had 11 corner opportunities to Rutgers' four. MSU had seven corner chances in the second half alone, forcing four saves for the Scarlet Knights in the second half (five total).

• With 18 goals through eight games, MSU is second in the Big Ten in total goals (41st nationally) and third in goals per game (2.25).

• The Spartans have outshot their opponents, (122-82), with a commanding 74-40 edge in the second half. Of MSU's 18 goals on the season, 12 of them have come in the second 45. MSU holds a 53-36 edge in shots on goal.

• On the season, MSU has 62 corners to just 26 allowed and have a 35-12 edge in corners in the second stanza. The Spartans lead the Big Ten and rank ninth nationally in corner kicks per game (7.75).

• MSU has scored the first goal of the game just twice this season (2-0-0), and surrendered the first score in five matches. Two opponents have had players with hat tricks (vs. Xavier and vs. Notre Dame), accounting for six of the 11 goals MSU has allowed this season.

• Starting off the season at 3-0-2, the Spartans were ranked as high as No. 12 and opened their fourth season in five under Hosler with a five-game unbeaten streak or more. The 2024 Spartans set the school record with a 14-game unbeaten streak to start the year, surpassing the previous record of 10 set in 2009. The 2023 MSU squad won three straight to open the year.

• MSU started the campaign with back-to-back ties: a 1-1 decision at Colorado and 0-0 against Dayton at home. This was the first time in program history that MSU started the season with ties in its first two games. With three deadlocks this season, it is approaching the five that MSU had in 22 games a year ago.

• Michigan State is not ranked in either national poll this week, just the second time this season that MSU has not been included. In fact, the Sept. 8 poll was the first time since Sept. 19, 2023 that the Spartans were not in the top 25 or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national poll. In the preseason survey, MSU came in at No. 12 - its highest preseason ranking in program history. The Spartans completed the 2024 season at No. 14 after advancing to the NCAA Round of 16.

• The Big Ten owned a 69-30-20 record (.663) through non-conference play. The ACC has the most victories of any conference at 76-21-24 (.727), the SEC posted 72-27-14 (.699), and Big 12 narrowly leads in winning percentage (66-19-18, .728).

• 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 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 returned 19 players from the 2024 roster, however - and welcome nine freshmen and two junior transfers.

• In the first four years of Jeff Hosler's tenure at MSU, the Spartans owned an overall record of 55-16-16, 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 11 home dates and 18 total games, and nine contests against opponents who appeared in the final United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll last December. MSU takes 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 13th nationally, with eight of the top 15 in that ranking hailing from the Big Ten.

• MSU's 2025 recruiting class 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 have welcomed home crowds of 1,200+ fans for all five of their home games this fall, with a single-match high of 2,214 vs. Notre Dame and a doubleheader total of 4,025 on Aug. 21 vs. NC State. MSU ranks fourth nationally in overall attendance (10,656) and sixth in average attendance (2,131).
   MSU ranked fifth nationally in overall (28,397) and sixth in average (2,184) attendance last season.

Player Notes - Field Players
• Michigan State has five players who have started every game this season, and 12 who have played in all eight.

• MSU has 10 different goal scorers of its 18 goals on the season. Four have multiple goals.

• Bella Najera scored MSU's lone goal against Rutgers, putting her in a tie for the team's goal-scoring lead (4) with Kennedy Bell. The duo are tied for sixth in the Big Ten in that category, and also rank sixth in goals per game (0.50).

• Najera leads the team with 10 points, which is also tied for sixth among B1G players; Najera is tied for ninth in the B1G with 1.25 goals per game.
Her 25 shot attempts and her 3.13 shots per game each rank fifth; she took a five shots (two on net) at Rutgers, her third game this season with multiple SOG.

• Najera has a point in five of MSU's eight games, the most of any player on the team.

• Najera's marker against the Scarlet Knights was the 21st of her career, which puts her in a tie for 14th in the Spartan annals with Camryn Evans (2018-22), Jennifer Huegli (1988-89) and Jamie Cheslik (2014-17). Her 53 career points moves her into a tie for 17th all-tme with Erin Konheim (15-23-53, 2002-05). She played in her 50th career collegiate game against Xavier (8/31).

• The 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Najera made her way into the single-season record books that year at MSU, with a 9-6-24 scoring line - the 21st most total points and 24th most points in a season.

• Najera was a Big Ten Player to Watch and a United Soccer Coaches Midfielder to Watch in the pre-season. The 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year has earned Third Team All-Big Ten honors in each of the last two seasons.

• Kennedy Bell's nine points ranks second on the team and in a tie for 10th in the Big Ten.

• Through eight games this season, Bell has already surpassed her three career goals she had in her two seasons at Maryland, where she was a defensive player.

• Redshirt sophomore Shelby Vaughn is one of four Spartans with multiple goals this season (2). She made her collegiate debut on Aug. 24, against Milwaukee, and scored her first collegiate goal in that contest. She added a second goal on the year against Xavier, (8/31), the first time she played more than 17 minutes in a game. She has appeared in each of MSU's last five games, and played in nearly 40 minutes in each of the last three.
• Vaughn's blocked shot attempt at Rutgers (set up by Kayla Briggs) directly led to the Najera equalizer in the 66th minute.

• Briggs had a goal against NC State (8/21) and an assist against Milwaukee (8/24) to get into the Spartan scoring column. She joined the Spartans after two seasons at Providence, where she combined for five goals, three game-winners, and seven assists over those two years. She had a team-high four shots against Notre Dame (9/4), and was one of three with multiple shots on goal at Rutgers.

• Briggs has played the second-most minutes of any player on the team, logging 583 (behind Najera's 600). She played all 90 minutes against Colorado, Buffalo and Rutgers; Maggie Illig played all 90 vs. Colorado, Dayton, and Rutgers, Najera logged 90 at Rutgers and vs. Buffalo.

• Renee Watson had a career day against Milwaukee (8/24) with two goals and two assists - it was her first collegiate goal, brace, and multi-point game. It is also the third-highest point total in a single game for any B1G player this season.

• Watson (8/24 vs. Milwaukee) and Najera (8/28 vs. Buffalo) gave MSU its first occurrence of braces in back-to-back games under Jeff Hosler. The Spartans posted four, two-goal games in 2024, two in 2023, and one each in 2021 - but this was the first time it happened in consecutive games.

• 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 in mid-September and started 13 of her 15 games on the year. She has started all eight games this season.

• Bell, Najera, and Maggie Illig have MSU's three game-winning goals this season, with Najera and Bell each notching game-tying scores.

•   Maggie Illig scored her first goal of the season just minutes into the Milwaukee game (8/24). It was the fourth of her career - she had one goal in each of her first three collegiate seasons. Illig had a pair of dangerous chances in the second half against Rutgers, as she was one of three Spartans with a pair of shots on goal in the contest.

• Illig was the most decorated Spartan in the pre-season, earning a spot on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, the United Soccer Coaches Defenders to Watch, and also is among the Big Ten Players to Watch. She was a Second Team All-Big Ten pick a year ago and was also a United Soccer Coaches All-Region pick.

• Kaleigh McPherson earned her second straight start and third of the season in the B1G opener at Rutgers. She was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2024.

• Freshman Ava Lutke earned her first career start vs. Notre Dame (9/4), also started the B1G opener last Friday. She has appeared in all eight Spartan games (415 total minutes) and has one goal on the year, scored against NC State (8/21).

• Adelle Francis had a goal and an assist in back-to-back games vs. NC State (8/21) and Milwaukee (8/24), giving her three points on the year. She started vs. Notre Dame and the season opener at Colorado, and has played in seven of MSU's eight games overall. She contributed a pair of assists in 19 games last year as a redshirt freshman.

• Redshirt junior Emerson Sargeant suffered a season-ending injury five games into the 2024 season. She has started all eight games and is one of four players with 500 minutes or more this season. In her four seasons at MSU, she has a 4-14-22 career scoring line, second only to Bella Najera.

• Mimi Hallier had her first career point against Buffalo (8/28), when she set up Najera for the game-winner. Hallier has started six games this season and has played 38 career contests.

• The Spartans returned six players with 16 or more starts last year: Seniors Sofia Beerworth and Maggie Illig, juniors Bella Najera and Renee 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 returned healthy for the 2025 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.

• Sophomore centerback Julia Belli was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2024, but she has not been active for a game yet this season. Belli started every game as a freshman and has one goal in 22 career games.

• Senior Remini Tillotson has played in all eight games, posting one assist. She came up with a huge save off the goal line in the game at Rutgers.

Player Notes - Keepers
• Freshman Kennedy Zorn started the Big Ten opener at Rutgers, credited with three saves and one goal against.

• In four starts and five appearances (405 MP), Zorn has 10 saves (.833 Sv%, fifth in the Big Ten) and two goals against (0.44 GAA, fourth B1G/23rd nationally), She ranks in a tie for 12th in the Big Ten in shutouts (2).

• Noelle Henning played in MSU's final non-conference game vs. Notre Dame (9/4), stopping three shots.

• Henning owns a 2.57 GAA and .591 save percentage in four games, all starts. She owns a 1-2-1 record.

• Henning started the game at Xavier, and Kennedy Zorn came in to play the second half. Henning made three stops in 45 minutes, and Zorn made two in 45 minutes of shutout action. It is the only Spartan game this season not played completely by one keeper.

•    All players must appear in 75% of their team's games in order to appear in Big Ten rankings - and with equal minutes played this season, neither of MSU's freshman keepers appears in the Conference statistics.

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Players Mentioned

Sofia Beerworth

Kennedy Bell

Julia Belli

Kayla Briggs

Regan Dalton

Adelle Francis

Mimi Hallier

Noelle Henning

Maggie Illig

Ava Lutke

Kaleigh McPherson

Bella Najera

Emerson Sargeant

Remini Tillotson

Shelby Vaughn

Renee Watson

Kennedy Zorn