No. 2 Michigan State is back in Big Ten action Thursday night, opening the second half of conference play at home against Minnesota with plenty already on the board and plenty still in front of it.
The Spartans bring a 9-1-2 record into the matchup and sit tied for first in the league at 5-1 with 15 points, alongside Ohio State and UCLA. Michigan State owns the head-to-head win over UCLA, though it does not play the Buckeyes in the regular season. Minnesota arrives at 7-3-2 overall and 3-2-1 in Big Ten play, tied with Northwestern for eighth place.
Michigan State has had the upper hand in the series lately, winning the last four meetings dating back to September 2021. Overall, the Spartans lead the all-time matchup 16-14-4, including a 10-6-1 mark at home.
The rankings keep telling the same story. Michigan State remains No. 2 in the IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches poll and has spent every week of the season inside the top five. The Spartans also hold the No. 1 spot in the RPI, where they’ve sat for each of the three weeks since the first release.
That résumé has been built against a brutal schedule. MSU has beaten four teams ranked in the top 20 of the IWSOC poll this season and also picked up a win and a tie against teams that were receiving votes at the time. By NCAA metrics, the Spartans’ strength of schedule is No. 2 in the country, with opponents combining for a 59-17-28 record, a .702 winning percentage.
This team has also made a habit of finishing games with a punch. Michigan State has scored five times in the final seven minutes this season, and four of those goals decided the result.
Bella Najera’s winner against Illinois last Sunday came with 4:30 left in regulation. Ella Janz delivered the most dramatic finish of the bunch at Notre Dame, scoring at 89:56 to force a 2-2 draw.
Kayla Briggs beat Loyola at 82:40, Emerson Sargeant scored at 86:46 against Nebraska, and Shelby Vaughn found the net at 86:43 in a 5-0 win at USC.
The Spartans have also struck early when it has mattered most, scoring three times in the opening seven minutes of games this season. Every one of those goals stood up as the winner: Briggs at USC at 5:37, Briggs again at UCLA at 6:55, and Janz against Washington at 2:37.
Michigan State’s offense has produced 25 goals, third-most in the Big Ten, while the team leads the conference and ranks third nationally in corner kicks at 8.58 per game. The defense has posted seven shutouts, including back-to-back clean sheets against Washington on Sept. 27 and Illinois on Oct.
- Last season, MSU had 10 shutouts, and the program record remains 13, set in 1987.
Bella Najera continues to move up the program lists. Her game-winner at Illinois was the 27th goal of her career, tying her for 10th all time at MSU, and her 10th career game-winner, which places her tied for fifth. The senior, who has been the most productive scorer of the Jeff Hosler era, is now tied for ninth in career points with 72 and sits 13th in career assists with 18.
Kayla Briggs has piled up 16 points on five goals and six assists, and she leads the team in assists. That total ranks third in the Big Ten and 30th nationally.
Her 16 points and 1.33 points per game both place sixth in the conference. Briggs has the deciding goal in four of MSU’s nine wins this year, and with nine game-winners in 33 games as a Spartan, she is ninth all-time in school history.
She has also set up two other Spartan winners this season, including Najera’s at Illinois.
Noelle Henning has returned to the lineup and immediately steadied the back line. She has posted shutouts in each of her first two games back, making two saves against Washington and three at Illinois.
In five games, she has four shutouts, a 0.40 goals-against average and an .875 save percentage. The sophomore has allowed only one goal in the run of play and one on a penalty kick, both against UNC on the road.
Henning now has 12 career shutouts, eighth in the MSU record book.
Emerson Sargeant’s career line now stands at 16 goals and 19 assists for 51 points, putting her tied for 20th in points in the Spartan record book and 11th all time in assists. Her 16 goals are two shy of MSU’s all-time top 20, and her seven career game-winners leave her just outside the top 10. She is the 23rd player in program history to reach 50 points.
Kaleigh McPherson has settled in as a full-time starter in her second season, even if she doesn’t always get the spotlight. The holding mid was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2024 and had a goal and two assists in 2025. She has started 48 of her 59 career games.
Sophomore Mackenzie Kruer has started the last nine games on MSU’s back line and has played 771 minutes across the Spartans’ 12 games. She picked up her first college point at North Carolina on Aug. 23 by assisting Bell’s second goal. In Big Ten play, she has averaged 73 minutes per game and logged a season-high 85 minutes at Illinois.
A player who scored her first goal of the season against Washington on Sept. 27 missed most of the 2025 season because of injury and was appearing in her third game this year. Michigan State will try to carry all of that into Thursday’s meeting with Minnesota.
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