CINCINNATI – Michigan State women’s soccer continues its season-opening road trip on Sunday, August 21, as the Spartans take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in a 1:00 pm kickoff at Gettler Stadium.
HEAD COACH JEFF HOSLER said…
“Cincinnati is a well-coached team,” Hosler said. “They bring back an experienced group from last year, including two standout players. It’s a team that has a lot of confidence, and they played really well in their stride. So we have to be really good at executing style our game, the movement. the ball effectively. I think we’re playing well defensively right now. We’ve been really disciplined for the most part early in the season. We’ve got to start getting more chances and playing a little bit better in the final third, and Sunday is another opportunity for that.”
I SHUT IT OFF
The Green & White return to action after a solid 2-0 win over Bowling Green on Thursday. The top striker Lauren DeBeau touched the icebreaker in the 12th minute on a ricochet off the glove of the Falcons goalkeeper, with the first man in front Maggie Illig earning credit for helping. An insurance target added by the graduate attacker Camryn Evans on a penalty kick in the 52nd minute iced the score and MSU rode the backline to the program’s first shutout of the year.
KEEPING THE COZAL
High goalkeeper Lauren Kozal opened the season with a complete game shutout at BGSU along with an impressive trio of saves. The Ada, Michigan native moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Spartans record book for career shutouts after earning her 14th. Kozal also earned the winning decision and moved into ninth at MSU with 19 career wins. Prior to the game, Kozal earned national recognition as the second Spartan to be named a member of the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, joining program legend Laura Heyboer.
THE FIGHT OF THE BEARCATS
Head coach Neil Stafford leads Cincinnati in his second game of the 2022 season after leading Northern Kentucky to a 2-0 sweep in the season opener. Vyviene Spaulding and Brandi Thomsen both scored a goal in the win. The Bearcats return to action after a 7-7-3 campaign in 2021 that included a 2-4-2 record in American Athletic Conference play, placing them seventh in the league standings. The team returns its leading scorer and scorer from a year ago in graduate forward Vanessa DiNardo, who tallied 19 points on the year, split between nine goals and a single assist.
Series History: CINCINNATI
Michigan State will also look to tie the all-time series with Cincinnati in the 16th meeting between the two programs. The Bearcats currently hold an 8-7-0 advantage over MSU, with their last win coming on August 28 of the 2005 campaign. MSU trails Cincinnati in games played at Gettler Stadium, with UC holding a narrow 4-3 advantage. -0 to Spartans all time. The Green & White recorded a 2-0 win in the most recent meeting on September 7, 2006, at DeMartin Stadium. An offensive onslaught fueled by 22 Spartan field goal attempts culminated in two goals by then-freshman Lauren Hill, booking the icebreaker in the 10th.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Sunday’s title game will be broadcast to a worldwide audience via ESPN+ with Matt Sexton on the call. Authenticated subscribers can access the game simulcast via the ESPN app on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and other connected devices.
FOLLOW THE SPARTANS
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State women’s soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women’s soccer team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WSoccer.
