In a match that was for sole possession of the top spot in conference standings, No. 15 ranked Michigan State traveled to Evanston, Illinois and held off the No. 5 ranked Northwestern Wildcats, 2-1.
The scoresheet was dominated by graduate students as the Spartans got off to a very quick start with graduate student defender Samantha White booting in her first goal of the season just about 12 minutes in.
The Spartans were not done yet in the half though as graduate student midfielder Celia Gaynor headed in a corner kick feed from graduate student defender Ruby Diodati to build the lead to two.
Things got chippy in the second half as Head Coach Jeff Hosler received a yellow card for arguing with an official over a no-call, but the two scores were all the Spartans needed as Northwestern could only muster a penalty kick score in the last 45 minutes.
MSU now only needs four more points to claim its first outright Big Ten Championship in program history. The win was Michigan State's first in program history between two top-15 teams.
The Spartans next matchup will take place in Columbus with the Buckeyes next Thursday. Then, Michigan State will close the regular season Oct. 23 versus Rutgers.
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