A fantastic start just kept getting better for the Michigan State women’s soccer team against Maryland on Thursday night. 

The Spartans pounced early on the Terrapins, putting three goals on the board in the opening 20 minutes. When all was said and done, MSU walked away with a feel-good 5-0 victory. 

After a disappointing outcome in MSU’s Big Ten Opener against Ohio State, the Spartans entered Thursday’s match as winners of their last two games, both on the road. Thursday marked their second straight shutout.

Following the win, MSU women’s soccer head coach Jeff Hosler said he was pleased with his team’s ability to maintain pressure with an early lead, an area that’s been an “Achilles' heel” for MSU thus far in 2023. 

“That’s two in a row for us coming off a spell where we’ve been conceding the single goal quite often,” Hosler said. “This is a good sign for us, both in the attacking piece and obviously the defending piece.”

MSU senior midfielder Gabby Mueller drew first blood just nine minutes in as she found the net off of a beautiful left-to-right cross sent in by senior midfielder Justina Gaynor. 

Six minutes later, MSU junior forward Jordan Wickes added to the Spartans’ lead with a sky-high header by way of a feed from senior midfielder Regan Dalton off of a corner set piece. A 2-0 advantage for MSU in the opening 15 minutes set the tone for what would be a long night for the Terrapins.

“When we haven’t gotten results, we score and we don’t put our foot on the gas,” Hosler said. “Going to get the second one was massive.”

Dalton picked up another assist just four minutes later, again on a set piece, finished off by senior defender/midfielder Zivana Labovic. With the score sitting at 3-0 in the 19th minute, it was clear that the game was on in East Lansing. 

The Spartans dominated every facet of the game, controlling the time of possession all the way through and putting up an eye-opening 25 shots to Maryland’s three. They also played a clean game, not committing a single offsides penalty. 

MSU senior forwards MJ Andrus and Ranya Senhaji joined the scoring party in the second half, both goals acting as knockout blows to the already-down Terrapins. The Spartans were able to play subs all over the field after taking the insurmountable first-half advantage. 

“We’ve been going pretty deep into our bench in the last 3-4 games,” Hosler said. “Today, we were able to utilize nearly every player available to us, and even some players in some different spots just to make sure we get them some quality minutes against quality competition.”

It was the kind of win a team puts in its back pocket heading into the scheduling gauntlet that MSU faces. A 2022 Big Ten Championship rematch against Penn State is first on the slate, followed by trips to Ann Arbor and Bloomington to battle Michigan and Indiana.

“Penn State, for a long time, has been the standard in the Big Ten,” Hosler said “They’re really well-coached, they’ve got an incredible roster and depth themselves. We want to play the best teams available.”

MSU, now 8-2-2, has an opportunity to be at the forefront of the Big Ten title conversation with a test against a top-five opponent.

The Spartans will remain at home this weekend, hosting fourth-ranked Penn State on Sunday, Oct. 1 at noon on Big Ten Network.