No. 5 Spartans Face No. 20 Washington in B1G Quarterfinals

No. 5/13 Michigan State (13-3-2, 9-3 B1G) vs. No. 20/21 Washington (12-2-4, 7-2-3 B1G)
Dates/Location	Thursday, Nov. 5 \| 5 pm ET/4 pm CT Energizer Park \| St. Louis, Mo. \| Gameday Information
B1G Tournament Info	Championship Central \| Printable Bracket
Television	none
Webstream	B1G+
Live Stats	Click Here
Press Conference	Jeff Hosler Media Availability (11/2)
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Washington
Social Media	Facebook X Instagram

What you need to know about Michigan State women's soccer

• The 2026 women's soccer postseason begins on Wednesday as the Big Ten Tournament in St. Louis, Mo. Michigan State has earned the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 5 Washington in a rematch of the Big Ten Championship game a year ago.
     In 2025, MSU fell to Washington in the B1G final on penalty kicks after ending in a 1-1 deadlock after 110 minutes.   The teams most recently met in the regular season at the end of September, with the Spartans earning a 3-0 victory.

• The Spartans are making their 18th Big Ten Tournament appearance in program history, and the program-best sixth straight. MSU is 6-16-3 all-time in quarterfinal games.

• No. 20/24 Washington (12-2-4, 7-2-3 B1G) tied Penn State for fifth place in the regular season standings; The Huskies will be the No. 5 seed thanks to a 1-0 win over the Nittany Lions at home earlier this season. Nicole Van Dyke owns a 72-35-31 record as the head coach at Washington and owns a 175-133-66 mark over her 20-year career. She guided the Huskies to Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in 2025.

• Washington is 4-1-2 against MSU all-time, and 1-1-1 since joining the Big Ten for the 2024 season. The Huskies have been a nemesis for MSU since joining the league - in 2024, a 2-1 win in Seattle snapped MSU's 14-game unbeaten streak to start the season. A year ago, the teams met in the Big Ten Tournament title game, which Washington won on penalty kicks after a 1-1 regulation and two OT periods.   The Spartans got a small measure of retribution with a 3-0 victory in East Lansing on Sept. 27 -MSU's first-ever win over UW.

•   Michigan State got the game-winning goal from Shelby Vaughn in the 88th minute and Noelle Henning recorded MSU's 11th shutout of the year on Friday, earning a 1-0 victory on the road at Northwestern. MSU finished the regular season at 13-3-2, 9-3-0 in Conference play – one point out of second place.

• The Spartans check in at No. 5 in the IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches national poll and has been among the top six in that poll in every playing week this season. MSU's schedule features nine teams that appear in the current Top 25 (or receiving votes) in either the IWSOC or Top Drawer Soccer national polls.

• MSU sits at No. 6 in the first postseason RPI rankings. MSU has played six teams that are in the RPI top 20 (North Carolina, Notre Dame, Colorado, and Xavier, along with B1G foes UCLA and Penn State). and nine who are in the top 40.

• MSU's 35 goals rank fourth in the Big Ten (48th, NCAA),as does its scoring offense of 1.94 goals per game. The Spartans rank second in the Big Ten in both assists (45, 10th nationally) and total points (115, 24th).

• Michigan State has registered shutouts in five of its last seven games, all Big Ten opponents: vs. Washington (9/27), Illinois (10/4), Minnesota (10/ 8), Indiana (10/16), and Maryland (10/25).   MSU has surpassed its 2025 total with 11 shutouts, two shy of the school record of 13 established in 1987.
     MSU's team GAA is 0.882, good for seventh in the Big Ten. Its shutout percentage (0.588, 10 in 17 games) is second in the league and 17th nationally. The school record is 13, set in 1987.

• MSU's defense has held opponents to just 152 shot attempts in 77 games, with 56 on target. The Spartans have forced opposing keepers to average more than five saves per game over 17 contests (5.47), and MSU has averaged 17.47 shot attempts per game (3rd B1G/16th nationally). Spartan keepers average 2.6 saves per game with a 0.938 GAA.

• Michigan State is fourth in the country with 137 corners (8.06 per game). The Spartans more than double up opponents in this category (53, 3.11/game). Despite being one of the top teams in the nation in corners, MSU is one of two schools in the Big Ten (Illinois is the other) without a penalty kick opportunity this season.

• Jeff Hosler has coached his teams to a 43-10-10 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 38-6-9 in the four-plus years since. He is 82-23-22 at MSU overall, and 315-90-40 in his head coaching career (21st season).

• The Spartans have 13 wins through the regular season, the second-most prior to the postseason in Hosler's tenure. MSU won 14 regular-season games in 2022.
With 15 victories in 2025, MSU matched the second-most wins in a season in Spartan history (the 1986 team also won 15, and the 2022 squad set the school mark with 17). The six ties set a school record.

• The Big Ten postseason honors were released on Tuesday, and Michigan State boasts six honorees. Four Spartans earned First Team spots: unanimous selections Kennedy Bell and Kayla Briggs, fifth-year Emerson Sargeant, and senior Renee Watson. Bella Najera was named to the Second Team, and Kaleigh McPherson to the Third Team. Senior Ella Janz was named Michigan State's Sportsmanship Award honoree.
• Watson earned All-Big Ten honors for the first time in her career, as she was named to the First Team when the squads were released by the Big Ten on Tuesday. She has the hottest hand (foot?) on the roster. She has points in each of MSU's last four games (2-2-4) and has a 3-3-9 scoring line while helping anchor MSU's back line. Watson has played all 90 minutes in each of the last five games and in 10 of 12 Big Ten contests.

• Kennedy Bell was a unanimous All-Big Ten selection for the second straight year. Bell ranks third in the Big Ten in points (25), is tied for second in assists (9) and ranks seventh in goals (8). A year ago, she led the Big Ten during the regular season in both points (25) and goals (10). Bell has 54 points (19g, 14a) in her 43 career games as a Spartan. She is the 24th player in program history to achieve 50 points, ranking 18th in career points and 19th in career goals. Combined with two seasons at Maryland, (79 games), she owns a 22-19-63 career scoring line.

• Kayla Briggs posted 23 points on seven goals and nine assists in the regular season (18 games), which matches her point total in 25 games in 2025. In addition to being responsible for four Spartan game-winners in 2026, Briggs also has assists on three others.   All seven of Briggs' goals this season have been the first of the game for the Spartans.

• Emerson Sargeant and Bella Najera have played their entire careers at MSU and have appeared in 87 career games; Najera has started 82 and Sargeant 81, which ranks third and fourth all-time. The record in both categories is 90 games, held by Samantha White (2018-22).

• Najera made Spartan history this week as just the second player in program history to earn All-Big Ten honors in four times.   The most decorated Spartan is MSU Hall of Famer Laura Heyboer, who earned First Team honors in each year of her playing career (2008-11).

• Najera has been asked to play defensively in more situations this season and still owns a 2-5-9 scoring line; her goals were the game-winners at No. 7 North Carolina (8/24) and at Illinois (10/4). She is the most prolific scorer in the Jeff Hosler era with 27 career goals, (10th all time) and her 10th career game-winners are tied for fifth place. The senior ranks ninth in career points (73) and is 12th in career assists (19).

• Emerson Sargeant owns a 6-4-16 scoring line, good for third on the team. She is also third in goals (6) and is second in game-winning goals (4). Her four game-winners rank 12th in a single season at MSU. 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 (with Briggs). She is the 23rd player in program history to achieve 50 points.

• Noelle Henning has delivered shutouts in six of her last eight games (all in B1G play). This included a 3-0 shutout victory over Washington (9/27) in her first game since returning from the U20 World Cup. Overall, she has surrendered six goals in her 11 games. She boasts a 0.545 GAA (second, B1G/ 18th NCAA) and .824 save percentage (third, B1G).   Her eight shutouts rank fourth among B1G keepers (23rd NCAA).

• Henning owns 16 career shutouts, tied for fifth in MSU's career record book; eight shutouts in each of her two collegiate seasons ranks fifth in the annals.   She now has 22 career victories for the Spartans in 32 career games, which ranks 10th all-time.

• Senior Sportsmanship Award recipient Ella Janz returned to the lineup vs. Maryland after missing the previous two games with an injury, giving a boost to MSU's thin midfield. • Janz had the game-winner vs. Washington (9/27), but she was also the hero at Notre Dame (9/3) when her header beat the clock as well as Irish keeper Sonoma Kasica, recording the game-tying goal at 89:56. She is tied for fourth on the team in points (3-3-9), which is her career best in all categories.

• Senior Mimi Hallier returned to the field for the Spartans in the regular-season home finale against Maryland. She suffered a significant injury in the B1G Tournament quarterfinals vs. Northwestern last season, and missed MSU's first 16 game in 2026. She played 21 minutes vs. the Terps, and then contributed 51 at Northwestern, the most among the reserves.

• St. Louis native Kaleigh McPherson earned All-Big Ten honors on Tuesday when she was named to the third team. She has matched her season high with a pair of assists in MSU's games vs. Minnesota (10/8) and at 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 played 1300 total minutes in 2026, averaging better than 74 minutes per. She has started 54 of her career 65 games in Green and White.

• Shelby Vaughn earned the first two starts of her career in the last two regular-season games. She played 80 minutes vs. Maryland and turned in her first 90-minute effort at Northwestern - and she needed all 90, as she scored the game's lone goal in the 88th minute. She now has three goals this season, to match the three she contributed in 2025.

• St. Louis-area native Addison Baldus (O'Fallon, Ill.) played a career-best 45 minutes in the home game vs. Maryland (10/25) and went 30 minutes last Friday vs. Northwestern. She and classmate Mackenzie Kruer are MSU's two tallest players - both check in at 6-1.

• Canadian freshmen Lacey Kindel and Samantha Powell just recently returned to East Lansing after participating in the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in Morocco. Kindel was a welcome return to MSU's midfield last Friday at Northwestern. The first-year player missed six games to Team Canada duties but has averaged 31 minutes in the 12 games in which she has appeared, going 26 against the Wildcats in her first game back. She scored her first collegiate goal vs. Washington (9/27) in her final game before her Team Canada deployment.

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Players Mentioned

Kennedy Bell

Kayla Briggs

Mimi Hallier

Noelle Henning

Ella Janz

Lacey Kindel

Mackenzie Kruer

Kaleigh McPherson

Bella Najera

Samantha Powell

Emerson Sargeant

Shelby Vaughn

Renee Watson

Michigan State University Athletics