Lansing Sun

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The top-ranked Michigan State women's soccer team is set to travel to Columbus, Ohio, to face No. 11 Ohio State on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. They will then return to DeMartin Stadium to host Rutgers on Sunday, Sept. 29 at noon for Alumni Day.

Both matches will be available for streaming on B1G+.

The Spartans are currently on an eight-game winning streak with a record of 8-0-2 (3-0-0 B1G). Their recent victories include a 4-1 home win against Nebraska on Sept. 19 and a 1-0 shutout at No. 9 Penn State on Sept. 22. This marks the best start in the program's history, surpassing their previous unbeaten streak of nine games.

Graduate forward Meg Hughes leads the team in scoring this season with 14 points from five goals and four assists. Graduate midfielder Emily Mathews has the most goals with six, while graduate midfielder Justina Gaynor has recorded a team-leading five assists. Gaynor scored the game-winning goal in the third minute at Penn State, her third goal of the season—all game winners.

Graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks made a career-high 11 saves in MSU's win at Penn State and is only the second goalkeeper to keep the Nittany Lions scoreless this season. She received Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honors on Tuesday.

MSU achieved its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this week.

Ohio State is coached by Lori Walker-Hock, who has a record of 298-304-61 over her 28 seasons at Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a record of 7-1-2 after securing a 1-1 draw against then-No.18 Iowa and a 2-1 win over Northwestern last week. Sophomore forward/midfielder Amanda Schlueter ranks third in Big Ten scoring this season with seven goals and four assists for a total of 18 points. Kailyn Dudokovich leads Ohio State in goals with eight.

Thursday's match will be the 30th all-time meeting between MSU and Ohio State, with Ohio State leading the series 16-12-1, including a dominant record of 13-3 in Columbus. However, MSU holds an edge in recent encounters with a record of 2-0-1 over the last three meetings following a draw last season in East Lansing and clinching the Big Ten regular-season title with a victory in Columbus on Oct.20.

Following these matches, MSU will host rival Michigan on Saturday, Oct.5 at DeMartin Stadium at 7 p.m., which will also stream on B1G+.

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