“Massive matchup last Sunday in Evanston, top 15 matchup, both teams at the top of the table at the time. Northwestern is an incredible side that's been pouring goals in and not conceding much,” Hosler said. “So, for us to go there, execute the game plan the way that we did, be up two-nil at halftime and still be in relative control through the second half, I think speaks a lot for our determination. Our group has the focus, they have the resiliency, setting us up for everything to play for in the final week.”

In the said final week, MSU will face two nationally ranked squads. First, they will head to Columbus to take on the No. 17 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. After that showdown, the team will head home to DeMartin for their final regular season game against No. 14 Rutgers on national television. 

The Rutgers game, which will be broadcasted by Big Ten Network, is only the Spartans second nationally televised game of the season. Senior forward Lauren DeBeau mentioned that she is excited for the opportunity. 

“Yeah, it's awesome," DeBeau said. "Everyone seems to do their hair a little bit better. So you know, look good, feel good, play good. And it's the last game of the regular season and it's just amazing to see how far we've come to get to a nationally televised game, so it's awesome.”

While the wins have been piling up for the squad, with their last six matches have ended in three points, redshirt senior goalkeeper Lauren Kozal noted that the team is not getting ahead of itself. 

“Coach has mentioned it over and over again just day by day,” Kozal said. “We want to work on just improving on that day, not focusing on what's coming ahead, but each day, putting in the work and getting the best out of ourselves and our team.”

Kozal recently was named one of the top 100 players in the country according to the TopDrawerSoccer (TDS) Top-100 Players Midseason List, but she said that her teammates, especially on the defensive side, play a key part in her receiving this acknowledgment.

“It feels great,” Kozal said. “Obviously I'm super honored by the recognition but I think a lot of that goes to my teammates and just how solid defensively we are in our ability to keep the ball and maintain possession in order to have the opponent's not be able to break through.”

The Big Ten and TDS agreed with Kozal this week as one of her defensive teammates, graduate student Samantha White, garnered a number of achievements for her performances against Indiana and Northwestern. She was named the conference’s defensive player of the week and earned a spot on TDS’s national team of the week among other awards for her contribution to a shutout against the Hoosiers and her goal against Northwestern. 

This is the eighth time a Spartan has received Big Ten Weekly honors, which stands as a new record for the program. 

In these next two games, MSU has a chance to earn its second ever first place finish in Big Ten play, with the last one coming in 1994. Hosler knows that the team has to be better in certain areas for this finish to come to fruition. 

“We're gonna go out and train the same way today as we had any other day," Hosler said. "We've still got to be better at certain moments in our build out. We'll be a little more dangerous and dynamic getting into the midfield. And I think collectively, just our organization defensively sometimes as teams take territory is important. So it's a boring response, but the reality is that it's all process driven. And it's about giving our best today focusing on getting better. Go to bed, wake up, do it all over again.”

Kickoff against the Buckeyes will take place this Thursday at 7 p.m.