Then-senior midfielder Brooke Cilley (6) tripped then-senior defensive midfielder Michaela Kovacs (4).The Wolverines defeated the Spartans at DeMartin Soccer Stadium, 3-2, on Oct. 19, 2019.
The 2021 women’s soccer schedule was finally released Friday, giving the Spartans some clarity on what a COVID-19 riddled season will look like.
Michigan State will kick off the season in less than a month on the road at Maryland on Feb. 20 as part of an 11 game conference-only schedule.
The home opener for MSU will be five days later on Feb. 25 against Nebraska.
Perhaps the toughest stretch for the Spartans will be a five-game road stretch against Rutgers, Penn State, Michigan, Indiana and Purdue in the middle of the season.
That, though, will be followed by a three-game homestand to finish out the schedule against Northwestern, Illinois and Ohio State.
Last year’s team had a fantastic start to the season going 7-1 in non-conference play. Then when Big Ten play started, MSU struggled to go 1-9-1 to finish the season with an 8-10-1 record.
The Spartans return the two leading scorers from 2019 Gia Wahlberg, with nine goals and Paige Webber with six as well as redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Kozal who started in all 19 games last season.
Wisconsin finished the regular season undefeated in Big Ten play with a 10-0-1 record, earning the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament. However, they were upset by the No. 8 seed Purdue in the first round of the playoffs. No. 4 Penn State went on to win the tournament with a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 3 Michigan.
Game times have yet to be announced. Families of student-athletes are the only allowed spectators in attendance, according to Big Ten protocols.
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