Spartans Welcome Maryland For Regular-Season Home Finale - Michigan State University Athletics

No. 5/4 Michigan State (11-3-2, 7-3 B1G) vs. Penn State (7-3-4, 5-2-2 B1G)
Dates/Location	Sunday, Oct. 25 \| 1 pm DeMartin Stadium, East Lansing, Mich. \| Gameday Information
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office
Promotions	Fan Appreciation \| See all Promotions
Webstream	B1G+
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| M aryland
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

The Starting XI

What you need to know about Spartan women's soccer

•  Michigan State plays its final regular-season home game on Sunday, hosting Maryland in a 1 pm matinee. The game will stream live on the B1G+; Koen Holman will be on the call with Elizabeth Senecal providing analysis and Paige Murray on sideline duty. Sunday's game will serve as MSU's Fan Appreciation match - the team will raffle off a team-signed soccer ball, and fans will have the opportunity to take a post-game shot on goal.

• Michigan State is 5-2-3 all-time against Maryland, with the series beginning when the Terps joined the Big Ten in advance of the 2014 season. The Spartans are 4-0 in the series since Jeff Hosler came to MSU in the fall of 2021; the teams did not meet last year.

• MSU has not conceded a goal to the Terps in the last four meetings - MSU has outscored Maryland 16-0, including 5-0 scores in both 2023 and 2024.

•   Two-time Maryland men's national champion Michael Marchiano is in his second full season as the head coach of the women's program. He was named the program's interim head coach in October 2024 and had the interim title removed in advance of the 2025 campaign. His team is 4-9-3 overall with a 1-7-2 mark in Big Ten play as Maryland played to a 1-1 draw vs. Michigan on Thursday.

• The Big Ten Tournament has a new format in 2026 - the field has been reduced to eight teams, with the quarterfinals (Nov. 4-5) and semifinals (Nov. 8) slated for Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri (the home of MLS's St. Louis City SC.) The Big Ten Championship game will be played on Friday Nov. 13 at the home site of the highest remaining seed.

• Just two games remain in the regular season for all Big Ten teams, and   Thursday night's slight provided as much clarity as it did crowded conditions in the Big Ten standings. Six teams have secured a spot in the Big Ten Tournament field: Ohio State has the current lead with 27 points, and both the Buckeyes and Purdue (22 points) earned Thursday night victories. UCLA (22) and MSU (21), both dropped decisions, and Washington's draw put them tied with MSU for fourth place (21). Sixth-place Penn State has 20 points. Indiana, Maryland, Oregon, and USC have been mathematically eliminated from the tournament field, leaving eight teams fighting for the final two spots, led by Wisconsin (17) and Michigan (16). Iowa's win over UCLA put them at 13 points, three behind the Wolverines as they battle to climb.

•   Michigan State suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss to Penn State at home on Thursday.    For the first time this season, the Spartans conceded the opening goal of the game in the 36^th minute. Penn State capitalized again two minutes into the second half, and then went into a defensive posture, pulling all 10 players back and suffocating MSU's offensive opportunities. The Spartans held possession of the ball 72% of the time in the match - including outshooting their guests 11-3 in the second half and having six corners. Kayla Briggs delivered her seventh goal of the season to cut the lead to 2-1 in the 55th minute - but MSU could not clear out space to find an equalizer over the final 35 minutes.

• MSU fell to No. 5 in the RPI rankings after the loss to the Nittany Lions. The first RPI rankings of 2026 were released on Sept. 21, and the Spartans held the No. 1 spot for three consecutive Mondays.    Through 16 games, MSU has played five opponents in the current RPI top 15, with a 4-0-1 mark in those games. A total of 11 of MSU's 16 opponents are in the top 100 (7-3-2).   The full RPI ranking can be found at bit.ly/WSOCRPI.

• The Spartans' strength of schedule currently ranks as the fourth most difficult in the nation to this point of the season (via NCAA metrics) and is the most difficult in the Big Ten. Spartan opponents are a combined 108-44-54 (.655). The Big Ten has three teams in the top 10, while the ACC has six. MSU's non-conference RPI ranks as No. 1 in the country.

• MSU's 33 goals ranks third in the Big Ten (36th, NCAA), as does its scoring offense of 2.04 goals per game. The Spartans also rank second in the Big Ten in both assists (43, seventh nationally) and total points (109, 18th).

• Thursday's crowd witnessed two 2026 oddities for MSU: the Spartans allowed an opponent to score the first goal of the game for the first time this season and also conceded just their third first-half goal. MSU holds a commanding 14-3 advantage in first half scoring over opponents, but the margin shrinks to 19-12 in the second half.

• MSU's team GAA is 0.938, good for 10th in the Big Ten. Its shutout percentage (0.563, nine in 16 games) is third in the league and 23rd nationally. MSU had 10 shutouts in 25 games a year ago, and the school record is 13, set in 1987.

• Jeff Hosler has coached his teams to a 42-10-10 record in Big Ten games since coming to MSU. In his first season (2021), the Spartans went 5-4-1 in conference play and are 37-6-9 in the four-plus years since. He is 81-23-22 at MSU overall, and 314-90-40 in his head coaching career (21st season).

• Bell, Briggs, and Renee Watson were named to Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 list this week. Bell came in at No. 10, Briggs at No. 15, and Watson at No. 88.   Only Michigan State, Ohio State, and Duke can boast two top-15 selections.

• Kayla Briggs had MSU's lone goal against Penn State (10/23), and has posted 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. Briggs' career-best nine assists ties for eighth in a single season at MSU. Her 23 points has matched her point total in 25 games as a junior – which is 26^th all-time in MSU's single season record book.

• Briggs has recorded at least a point in each of MSU's last seven games (2-6-10). She has at least a point in nine of MSU's 10 B1G contests and overall on the year, has contributed a point in 12 of 16 games. Kennedy Bell and Emerson Sargeant have points in eight of 16.

• Renee Watson had MSU's second goal at Indiana last Friday (10/16), and assisted on Briggs' score against Penn State (10/22). She leads the team in minutes played this season, (1308).   After a career-best 13-point junior season in the Spartan midfield in 2025, the senior has a 2-2-6 scoring line this season. She has started all but one game on MSU's back line to provide both experience and versatility - she has played all 90 minutes in each of the last three games and eight overall. She has gone all 90 in seven of 10 Big Ten contests.

• Noelle Henning returned to East Lansing on Sept. 22 after a month as the starting keeper for Canada at the FIFA U20 World Cup. She has delivered shutouts in four of her six games since returning to the lineup and six total (in nine games) on the season.   She boasts a 0.667 GAA (third, B1G/ 33rd NCAA) and .806 save percentage (seventh B1G).   Her six shutouts is seventh among B1G keepers.

• Kennedy Bell assisted on both of MSU's goals at Indiana last Friday. Through 16 games, Bell ranks third in the Big Ten in goals (8), assists (8) and points (24). A year ago, she led the Big Ten in both points (29) and goals (11) in 25 games.  Bell's 24 points ranks 22nd in a season in MSU's annals. She now has 53 points (19g, 13a) in her 41 career games as a Spartan. She is the 24th player in program history to achieve 50 points, ranking 21st in career points and 19th in career goals.

• Emerson Sargeant opened the scoring at Indiana (10/16) in the 33rd minute, a goal that stood as the game-winner. She owns a 6-4-16 scoring line, good for third on the team. She owns a career total of 18 goals and 20 assists (56 points); she ranks 17th in points in the Spartan record book and ninth all-time in assists. Her 18 goals rank 20th, and her nine career game-winners ranks in a tie for ninth.

• Sargeant and Bella Najera have played their entire careers at MSU, and both are among all-time leaders in both games played and started. Sargeant enters Sunday's game with 81 starts in 87 career contests, which ranks third in both categories. Najera has started 80 of her 85, ranking fourth. The record in both categories is 90 games, held by Samantha White (2018-22); MSU has two regular-season games remaining, along with the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

• Julia Belli has started all 16 games and logged 1207 minutes at centerback this season after missing all of 2025. One of the most impressive Spartan comeback stories, Belli is averaging 75 minutes in MSU's B1G games; she ranks fourth among Spartans in minutes played, which includes a full 90 vs. North Carolina, UCLA, Purdue, and Penn State. Belli started all 22 games and was a Big Ten All-Freshman team selection in 2024.

• Kaleigh McPherson is in her second season as a full-time starter for MSU and is often overlooked as kudos are handed out. However, she has delivered big assists in MSU's games vs. Minnesota (10/8) and Purdue (10/11). The holding mid was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2024 and had a goal and two assists in 2025. She has started 52 of her 63 career games and averages better than 74 minutes per.

• Junior defender Faith George contributed a pair of assists in the game vs. Washington (9/27) and has three assists on the year. George has started each of MSU's 16 games this season, totaling 1129 minutes (70 per). She joined the Spartans in January after two seasons at B1G rival USC, where was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2024, along with Belli and McPherson - that's three of the 11 top freshmen in the league that year now playing at MSU.

The Starting XI

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Players Mentioned

Kennedy Bell

Julia Belli

Kayla Briggs

Faith George

Noelle Henning

Emerson Sargeant

Renee Watson

Michigan State University Athletics

The Starting XI

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Players Mentioned

Kennedy Bell

Julia Belli

Kayla Briggs

Faith George

Noelle Henning

Emerson Sargeant

Renee Watson

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