CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Senior forward Lauren DeBeau booked Michigan State’s second consecutive hat trick, and the Spartan women’s soccer team rode a dominant second half to a 3-0 rout of the Illinois Fighting Illini to open Big Ten play on Sunday at Demirjian Park.
DeBeau’s offensive outburst comes on the heels of another Spartan hat trick by graduate forward Camryn Evans on Sept. 11 in the 4-2 upset of then-No. 19 Colorado in East Lansing. The result marks the first time in program history that two different Spartan players have secured three-goal games in back-to-back contests. According to available records, DeBeau’s hat trick in 11:02 of elapsed game time is the fastest in Michigan State history.
The Spartans open conference play undefeated for the third-straight year and have notched victories in their Big Ten opener in both seasons of head coach Jeff Hosler‘s tenure. MSU rises to 6-1-2 overall on the year while Illinois drops to 5-3-1 with an 0-1 ledger in Big Ten action. The Green & White recorded their fourth victory over the Illini in the history of the series dating back to the 1997 season, and their first win against Illinois since Sept. 20, 2002.
In the box score, the Spartans ran up a commanding 18-12 edge in shots with a 11-4 differential in shots on goal. MSU did an expert job of pressuring the Illini back line, culminating in a 7-1 margin in corner kicks for the afternoon. DeBeau led the way in every statistical category, attempting six total shots with all of them on target, in addition to her three-goal effort. Senior defender Raegan Cox, graduate…
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