MSU freshman forward/midfielder Bella Najera (23) has the ball while Pennsylvania State University senior midfielder Natalie Wilson (32) chases Bella at DeMartin Soccer Stadium on Oct. 1, 2023.
48 hours removed from making history by capturing its second straight Big Ten title, the Michigan State’s women’s soccer team comes in at No. 12 in the United Coaches Poll and No. 16 in the TopDrawer National Ranking to conclude the regular season.
The Spartans knocked off Iowa 3-0 Sunday, becoming the first women’s soccer program to win back-to-back Big Ten championships since Penn State during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
MSU has earned the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker and will have a rematch with the 8-seeded Hawkeyes in the quarterfinals this Sunday.
After tallying her seventh goal of the season against Iowa, MSU freshman forward/midfielder Bella Najera was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season.
Moreover, Spartan senior midfielder Justina Gaynor received national honors Tuesday, earning a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after contributing to four of MSU’s five goals last week.
2️⃣ award winners this week!
— Michigan State Soccer (@MSU_wsoccer) October 24, 2023
Congrats to Bella on her FOURTH @B1GSoccer Freshman of the Week honor and Justina on her @csoccernews National Team of the Week award!
📰 https://t.co/dQaUvggAJq#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/oBWbYtPc6k
Najera became the first Spartan in program history to tab three Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Oct. 17 and added to her record-breaking season with yet another. The St. Charles, Illinois native has scored at least one point in MSU’s last five games and currently leads all Big Ten freshmen in points (18) and goals (7).
Gaynor tallied two assists against Iowa Sunday. On the road at Illinois Oct. 19, Gaynor scored a goal and assisted on senior midfielder Gabby Mueller’s game-winner in MSU’s 2-1 victory over the Fighting Illini.
The top-seeded Spartans return to DeMartin Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 29, to square off against 8-seed Iowa in their second straight outing.
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