UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Michigan State women’s soccer hits the road for a top-10 test against the preseason Big Ten-favorite and sixth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, as the Spartans head to Jeffrey Field for a 7 p.m. kick on Thursday, Sept. 29.
KICKIN’ IT
The Spartans return to work following a dominant 3-1 performance at home in their last time out against the Purdue Boilermakers on Sept. 25. MSU is riding a five-game unbeaten streak dating to a scoreless draw with Oakland on Sept. 8. In the interim, the Green & White have booked wins over then-No. 19 Colorado and Illinois, highlighted by a pair of hat tricks from senior forwards Camryn Evans and Lauren DeBeau. Prior to the result against Purdue, MSU also registered a scoreless tie with Iowa on Sept. 22. The Spartans have earned five Big Ten Weekly Honors this season, needing only one more to set a new program record.
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
Veteran head coach Erica Dambach leads sixth-ranked Penn State into Thursday night’s matchup boasting a 7-1-2 overall record coupled with an undefeated 2-0-1 start to B1G play. The Nittany Lions are coming off their best two performances of the season, stunning then-No. 4 Rutgers by a 2-0 margin on Sept. 22, before dismantling Illinois by a 5-0 score on Sept. 25. PSU took home three-of-four available Big Ten Weekly Honors on Sept. 27, with senior forward Penelope Hocking highlighting the group with three goals in two games. In goal, senior keeper Katherine Asman paces the squad with 33 saves, and stands as the reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week following shutouts against Rutgers and Illinois.
STORY OF THE SERIES: PENN STATE
Michigan State trails Penn State by a 5-24-0 margin heading into the 30th all-time meeting between the two programs Thursday night. Penn State has won each of the last five meetings in the series and has never dropped a contest on Jeffrey Field, boasting an unblemished 11-0-0 mark. The Spartans last published a win over PSU on Oct. 22, 2016, when the Green & White upset the then-16th ranked Nittany Lions by a 3-1 margin on Senior Day. That win was the last Michigan State ranked victory prior to this season’s upset of No. 19 Colorado. MSU dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to Penn State last year at DeMartin Stadium…
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