EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State’s women’s soccer team opens its final homestand of the regular season Thursday night, with the fifth-ranked Spartans hosting Penn State at 6 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium.
The Spartans bring an 11-2-2 record into the match and are 7-2 in Big Ten play, good for 21 points and third place, three points behind league leader Ohio State. They have spent time at No. 1 in the national rankings this fall and sit fourth in the NCAA’s RPI ratings.
Michigan State’s attack has carried the season. The Spartans have scored 21 goals in nine conference games and lead the Big Ten in shot attempts, assists and corner kicks, averaging more corners per match than any team in the country. Kennedy Bell paces the team with eight goals and eight assists, and Kayla Briggs leads the league with nine assists to go with six goals, four of them game-winners.
Their two losses came at Purdue on Oct. 11 and at home against in-state rival Michigan on Sept. 20. The Spartans bounced back from the Purdue loss with a 2-0 shutout at Indiana last Friday, their eighth clean sheet of the season.
Penn State arrives at 7-3-4 overall and 5-2-2 in the Big Ten, sixth in the standings with 17 points. The Nittany Lions lean on defense, having given up just 10 goals all season with seven shutouts. They beat Rutgers 1-0 last weekend.
Michigan State closes the home schedule Sunday against Maryland at 1 p.m.
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