No. 5 Michigan State powered through a wet, blustery night in Bloomington and came away with a 2-0 win at Indiana on Friday, getting goals from Emerson Sargeant and Renee Watson while Noelle Henning posted her sixth shutout of the season.
The Spartans improved to 11-2-2 overall and 7-2-0 in Big Ten play, and the victory snapped them back into the win column in their lone game of the week. Indiana dropped to 4-9-2 and 1-7-1 in conference action.
MSU controlled the match from start to finish, and the numbers backed it up. The Spartans finished with a 19-4 advantage in shots, put six attempts on target to Indiana’s one, and won the corner battle 14-0 while holding 66% of the possession. The weather never let up, with rain and wind shaping the game throughout.
Sargeant opened the scoring in the 33rd minute after Michigan State had already rattled the post or crossbar three times in the first half. The breakthrough came off a slick sequence: Kayla Briggs flicked a back heel to Kennedy Bell, and Bell slid the ball to Sargeant, whose shot from just above the penalty spot bounced off the crossbar and in.
Indiana thought it had found an equalizer in the 60th minute on a Jenna Chatterton goal, but after a brief video review, the officials wiped it away because a foul was ruled to have come before the shot.
Michigan State kept pressing, hitting the post or bar twice more after halftime, and finally put the match away in the 83rd minute. Bell spotted Watson making her run up the left side, waited for the opening, and delivered a perfectly weighted pass into space. Watson then buried the chance from the upper left corner of the box for her second goal of the year.
Sargeant’s score was her 18th career goal, moving her into 20th all-time in that category at MSU. It was also her sixth goal of the season, tied with Kayla Briggs for second on the team, and her ninth career game-winner, which ties her for ninth in school history. She put three of Michigan State’s six shots on goal.
Watson played the full 90 minutes for the sixth time this season, a team high, and added her second goal of the campaign.
Henning finished with two saves in earning her seventh win of the season. The shutout was her sixth in the last eight games, and the 14th clean sheet of her career, which ranks seventh in MSU history. Her 20th career victory also moved her into a tie for 10th all-time at Michigan State.
Bell was the catalyst on both goals, collecting the primary assist each time to bring her season total to eight. That leaves her second on the team behind Briggs, who picked up one assist Friday and now has nine this season.
Bell’s two assists pushed her into 20th place all-time at MSU with 15 career assists, and her 53 career points now rank 19th in school history. Briggs has 16 career assists as a Spartan and is tied for 17th in that category.
Michigan State will finish the regular season with two home games next week. The Spartans host Penn State on Thursday at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, then close the week against Maryland on Sunday at 1 p.m.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Entered A Big Ten Recruiting Fight Up Front
Michigan State has added another name to its board up front, extending an offer to Illinois high school standout Ben Coleman, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound hybrid tight end and blocker whose recruiting profile has already put him on the radar of several programs. Coleman is viewed as one of the more highly rated prospects in his state and nationally, which makes this the kind of battle the Spartans have to stay active in if they want to keep pace in the Big Ten trenches.
What makes Coleman especially interesting is the way his game blends size with versatility, giving him a profile that could fit a few different offensive roles depending on how a staff wants to use him. With other schools involved and his recruitment still unfolding, Michigan State is now part of a competition that figures to keep growing as more programs press their case for one of the regions more intriguing blockers. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Suddenly Needs Unsung Spartans To Step Up Vs Northwestern
Michigan State is heading into its matchup with Northwestern with the kind of lineup uncertainty that forces depth pieces into the spotlight. With injuries affecting several spots, the Spartans will need more than their headline names to hold up, and that puts added pressure on players like running back Jaziun Patterson and the offensive line tandem of Rakeem Johnson and Robert Wright Jr. in a game where every clean snap and steady assignment matters.
On the other side of the ball, the margin for error looks just as thin. Defensive end Kenny Soares Jr. and cornerbacks Jeremiah Favorite and KJ Deriso are among the players who may have to absorb bigger roles, and Michigan State needs that next wave of Spartans to look ready quickly. The challenge now is whether those unsung players can stabilize the depth chart in time to keep the matchup from turning into a test of survival. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Showed 2 Encouraging Signs In A Brutal Northwestern Loss
For much of Saturday, Michigan State had enough going on to make the loss sting even more. The Spartans hung with No. 25 Northwestern deep into a close game, and there were real signs that the program is starting to sort out some problems. The defense generated multiple sacks, with Anelu Lafaele, Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen all getting in on the pressure, while Coenen also came through with a blocked field goal that kept the game within reach.
The offense also showed a little more life under Nick Sheridan, whose playcalling helped Michigan State move the ball more consistently than it has at times this season. Even with limited talent, the Spartans found enough rhythm to stay alive into the final stretch before the game turned on a blocked potential go-ahead kick and a late Northwestern field goal. It was still a brutal loss, but for a team trying to find traction, the performances on both sides offered a small bit of encouragement to carry forward. [Read more 🡒]