Lansing Sun

In East Lansing, Michigan State University's women's soccer team achieved a narrow victory over their rivals, the University of Michigan, with a 1-0 win on Saturday night. The match was held at DeMartin Stadium in front of a record crowd of 5,145 spectators.

The Spartans' current season remains unbeaten as they improve to a 9-0-4 record overall and 4-0-2 in the Big Ten Conference. This extends their program-record unbeaten streak to 13 games, tying them with Utah State for the longest such streak in the nation this year. Meanwhile, Michigan's record falls to 2-10-1 overall and 1-4-0 in conference play.

Head coach Jeff Hosler expressed satisfaction with his team's performance: "I thought we were great tonight," he said. "The intensity piece, right from the start, I thought that we were really sharp." Hosler also celebrated his milestone 50th win as head coach at Michigan State.

The match's only goal came from graduate midfielder Justina Gaynor, who converted a penalty kick in the 76th minute. This marked her fourth goal of the season, all of which have been decisive game-winners for the Spartans.

Michigan State outshot their opponents 12 to 8 and had a slight edge in shots on goal with six compared to Michigan's five. Sophomore midfielder Bella Najera led MSU with three shots during the game.

Graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks played a full match and secured her seventh win and fifth clean sheet of the season. On the opposing side, Michigan's goalkeeper Stephanie Sparkowski was credited with the loss.

Reflecting on the significance of playing before such an audience, Gaynor shared her thoughts: "I'm honestly speechless," she said. "To think a couple of years ago where we were and where we are now, it's unreal."

Hosler also commented on community support: "It's really hard to put into words," he noted. "Not just the attendance record we set tonight but our attendance average has been something that most programs can only dream of."

Next on their schedule is a trip westward for MSU as they face Oregon on October 10th. The game will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network.