Michigan State field hockey left Athens, Ohio, with a clean sweep of its opening weekend intact, beating Saint Louis 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at Pruett Field.
The result pushed the Spartans to 2-0, their best opening through two games in four years. It also marked Michigan State’s first 2-0 start since 2022, when the team opened 3-0 with wins over No. 21 American, Saint Louis and UC Davis.
The game was basically decided before the first period was even over. Senior Bianca Pizano buried two penalty strokes in the first five minutes, giving MSU an immediate cushion and finishing the weekend with three goals on three penalty stroke chances. Then sophomore Ellie Kendall added the third goal in the 14th minute, finishing off a feed from sophomore Ella Tambroni for the first point of Tambroni’s career.
Michigan State controlled the flow throughout, outshooting Saint Louis 16-6 and holding an 8-3 edge in shots on goal. The Billikens did finish with a slight 6-5 advantage in penalty corners, but the Spartans’ defense and freshman goalkeeper Lola Munoz de Verger made sure it never turned into anything dangerous. Munoz de Verger stopped three shots for her first career shutout, including two saves in the fourth period.
Next up for the Spartans is a trip to Oxford, Ohio, where they’ll face Miami University on Friday, September 4. Michigan State then returns home for its opener in East Lansing on Sunday, September 6 against No. 18 Louisville.
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Michigan State Receivers Face Mounting Pressure Around Chrishon McCray
Montorie Fosters latest NFL chapter has him back in the spotlight on HBOs Hard Knocks, where the former Michigan State wideout is trying to earn a roster spot with the Seattle Seahawks. Foster already knows the grind in that building, having spent time on the Seahawks practice squad and picked up a Super Bowl ring along the way, which makes his path a familiar one even as his college program keeps moving in a different direction.
At Michigan State, the receiver room looks very different now, with a wave of departures leaving Chrishon McCray as the most experienced returnee in the group for new coach Pat Fitzgerald. That puts even more pressure on the Spartans to find answers quickly on the perimeter, and it also makes Fosters NFL journey a useful reminder of how much turnover can reshape a position in a short time. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremy Fears Jr. Has Michigan State Fans Dreaming About A Different Ceiling
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Michigan State has plenty of reasons to be intrigued by what that could mean once the season starts. Fears was always viewed as a guard whose value would come from pace, pressure and control, but a renewed edge as an athlete could change the way he attacks the game and how much ceiling the Spartans can reach around him. The full answer still has to wait until he gets back on the floor in competitive games, but the early signs have fans imagining a version of Fears that looks a lot more explosive than the one they were already hoping to get back. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Already Has A 2026 Number Fans Will Debate
FanDuel has already put a 2026 number on Michigan States football season, and it is the kind of line that will get fans talking long before the teams ever take the field. The board includes an opening-game spread against Toledo, championship odds and a fresh look at how the market views the Spartans as they head toward a season that is still far off enough to invite plenty of debate.
There is also player intrigue attached to the early numbers, with quarterback Alessio Milivojevic among the Spartans listed in the betting mix. Odds like these do more than frame expectations, they give fans an early read on how outside observers see Michigan States path, even if the most interesting part of the conversation is still what those numbers might look like once the schedule and season start to take shape. [Read more 🡒]