EAST LANSING, Mich. – The top-seeded and sixth-ranked Michigan State women’s soccer team opens the 2022 Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, Oct. 30, as the Spartans welcome eighth-seeded Minnesota to DeMartin Stadium for a 4 p.m. Quarterfinal kick on Big Ten Network.
HEAD COACH JEFF HOSLER SAID…
“It’s a new year, and this is a different team. We are going to approach this just like we have each time out during the regular season. We have been focused all week on our preparation for Minnesota, which is a really solid side. They present a lot of problems and have been playing in incredible form over the last five matches, going undefeated in that span. We know we are going to have to execute. At the end of the day, big matches are always decided by key moments and details, so we will have to be comfortable living in those situations.”
KICKIN’ IT
MSU secured its first officially-recognized Big Ten Championship on Thursday, Oct. 20, and published only the ninth undefeated B1G season in league history on Sunday, Oct. 23. Michigan State downed No. 17 Ohio State and No. 14 Rutgers, both by 1-0 scores. The Spartans completed the best regular season in program history, setting a new school record with nine league wins and need only one more overall victory to match the school record. Michigan State earned 11 Big Ten awards in the postseason, highlighted by Jeff Hosler (B1G Coach of the Year), Lauren DeBeau (B1G Forward of the Year), Ruby Diodati (B1G Defender of the Year) and Lauren Kozal (Unanimous B1G Goalkeeper of the Year). All three individual award winners, in addition to junior midfielder Justina Gaynor, were named to the All-Big Ten First Team. Senior defender Raegan Cox landed a spot on the league’s Second Team, while freshman midfielder Emerson Sargeant earned an All-Freshman Team selection. Senior midfielder Abby Gardiner also garnered recognition as a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient.
BACK LINE? BRICK WALL.
Michigan State owns the most dominant defense in NCAA Division I, assuming the top spot in the nation following a pair of shutout wins over Ohio State and Rutgers. The Green & White own a goals-against average of 0.389, leading second-place UCLA by 0.049 points. Through the first 18 games of the 2022 campaign, Michigan State…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Michigan State University Athletics…