No. 5 women's soccer hosts Michigan on Saturday night at DeMartin

EAST LANSING, Mich – No. 5 Michigan State women's soccer hosts rival Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium.

The game will be streamed on B1G+.

FIRST TOUCH
MSU extended its program-record unbeaten streak early in the season to 12 games last week with a 2-2 draw against then-No. 11 Ohio State on Sept. 26 before a 1-1 tie at home against Rutgers on Sept. 29. The Spartans are 8-0-4 this season and sit in second place in the league standings with 11 points and a 3-0 tie -2 record. The Spartans' 12-game unbeaten streak is the second-longest in the NCAA in 2024. MSU shares the streak with 9-0-3 Iowa, while Utah State leads with a record of 11-0-2. The Spartans are also one of four teams in the NCAA that are undefeated this season, along with Iowa, Utah State and Arkansas.

Graduate forward Meg Hughes scored a goal against the Buckeyes to increase her team lead to 16 points this season, while the graduate goalkeeper converted a second-half penalty to score the first goal of her career. Graduate forward Mackenzie Anthony scored the only Spartan goal against Rutgers, their third goal of the season and first since August 25. Graduate midfielder Justina Gaynor Ranks first on the team with six assists.

The Spartans are ranked fifth in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this week for the fourth time this season. MSU has secured a top-five spot in the poll for six consecutive weeks.

Looking for Michigan
Michigan is led by ninth-year head coach Jennifer Klein, who holds a record of 65-46-16 during her time in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines are 2-9-1 overall and 1-4-0 in the conference, most recently losing to Rutgers (1-0) and Ohio State (2-1) last week. Michigan's only wins this season were a 1-0 home victory over then-No. 1-24 Alabama on September 8 and a 3-2 home victory against Nebraska on September 22.

Junior midfielder Jenna Lang leads Michigan in points (8 points) and goals (4) this season. Junior forward Kali Burrell and sophomore Campbell Jewell lead the way with two assists each. Trained goalkeeper Stephanie Sparkowski has made 45 saves this season.

Michigan is 16-9-7 in the series since 1994, the first year both teams had varsity status. MSU became a varsity team in 1986 and earned six straight wins over the Wolverines from 1986 to 1994, giving the Wolverines a slim 16-15-7 lead in the all-time series since the official start of the varsity women's soccer program at MSU . The Spartans have won the last two contests in the series, most recently 3-2 in Ann Arbor on October 7th last season. Current seniors Jordyn Wickes (2) and Gabby Müller scored goals in this game. It was MSU's first win at Michigan since 1994.

MSU secured a 2-0 win in their last meeting in East Lansing on October 9, 2022, which was the Spartans' first win in the series since 2017. Wickes scored the winning goal in this game. The then attendance record for a women's soccer game at MSU was set during this game with 3,022 fans.

NEXT
MSU makes its first trip to the West Coast to face Oregon on Thursday, October 10th at 9:30 p.m. ET before traveling to Washington on Sunday, October 13th at 4:00 p.m. ET. Thursday's game will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network, while Sunday's game will be streamed on B1G+.