SOUTH BEND, Ind. – An early second-half goal from Justina Gaynor secured a 2-1 season-opening victory for No. 13 Michigan State women’s soccer at No. 15 Notre Dame Thursday night in South Bend.
The win marked MSU’s first victory over Notre Dame since September 22, 1989, snapping a 13-game losing streak, and is the second road victory and third win overall in the 16-game series. The Spartans have now won 27 season openers and extended their unbeaten streak in season-opening matches to 13.
The Spartans held a narrow 15-14 shot advantage, including a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Graduate midfielder Gabby Mueller kicked off the scoring for the Spartans, registering her second-straight season-opening goal after scoring the lone goal in MSU’s 1-0 victory over Cincinnati in the 2023 season opener.
MSU got off to a dominant start, with Mueller’s goal coming in the fourth minute after a pair of early shots from the Spartans. A shot from graduate forward Meg Hughes got the offense going before Mueller scored off a save from a shot of her own in front of the Notre Dame goalkeeper.
The Fighting Irish quickly responded with an equalizer from forward Annabelle Chukwu in the ninth minute.
A physical 30 minutes followed the early goals. Junior Emerson Sargeant forced a Notre Dame save in the 12th minute before a back-and-forth battle between the Spartans and Irish that included a yellow card by each team. Notre Dame then came to life offensively, but a pair of saves from graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks kept the game tied with 15 minutes to go in the half.
Despite a strong offensive push from the Irish, the Spartans continued to generate opportunities with a strong final five minutes in the half. Senior forward Mackenzie Anthony had the best look for the Spartans in the final minutes, sending a ball just high that hit the crossbar, but was unable to find the net as the teams headed to halftime tied at 1-1.
The Spartans wasted no time coming out of the locker room, retaking the lead just 40 seconds into the half as Sargeant brought the ball into the box and found a charging Gaynor at the right of the goal for MSU’s second goal of the night.
MSU dominated the opening minutes of the half after the goal, rattling off a pair of shots in the 57th and 58th minutes. The Irish responded with a quick sequence of shots of their own, but Parks continued to hold strong in goal to stave off…
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