With the win, the Spartans (10-1-5, 5-1-3 Big Ten) are now fourth in the conference, moving within four points of USC and UCLA at the top spot.  

Friday night was a needed response for the Spartans after a rugged trip to the northwest. Head coach Jeff Hosler praised his team's defensive performance.

"We got the response," Hosler said after the match. "I’m thrilled that we got a result; I’m thrilled that we got a shutout. I think our defensive unit was great but this is a game that with the opportunities we created has to be three or four, nil."

One change was made to Hosler’s side following MSU's first loss of the season last Sunday against Washington. Graduate forward Meg Hughes returned to the starting eleven, replacing senior forward Jordyn Wickes, who made her first start of the season in Seattle.

As they usually do, the Spartans started aggressive, barraging the Badger 18-yard box consistently from the opening whistle. Constant high pressure and sound wide play from junior defender Sofia Beerworth and sophomore defender Renee Watson fueled MSU's eight shots in the first half.

Beerworth opened up the scoring. She found herself on the right flank, taking on her marker like she has all season. However, instead sending in her usual cross, Beerworth cut onto her weak foot and wrapped a curling effort into the far bottom corner. MSU took a 1-0 lead on Beerworth's first goal of the season.

"They’re all playing their best of the season right now," Hosler said of his backline. "They’ve kept us in games and today, they continued to get us a really solid result."

Wisconsin was forced out of its shell early and put five shots on target by the end of the first half. However, the attempts were either low-quality or lacked the necessary venom to test MSU graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks.

The Badgers' best chance of the half came when sophomore midfielder Erin Connolly could've broken inside the Spartan 18-yard box but left the Badgers wondering as she rolled a tame effort into the hands of Parks.

As the half dwindled to a close, Hosler brought on junior defender Remini Tillotson as the side looked to make a switch from its 4-4-2 shape to a 3-5-2, providing a plus-one in its backline to reassure the defensive shape.

Hosler talked about about the mid-game formation change that allowed the Spartans to silence any threat Wisconsin mustered.

"Similarly to last year, (the Badgers) were in a 4-4-2 and we scored first and they went to a 3-5-2, which they did again today and went super direct to their forwards," Hosler said. "It just opens up the whole game against us, so we felt adjusting to a three back would give us more security."

The Badgers approached the second half more aggressive out of the gate, looking to pressure MSU back in hopes of increasing their chance quality.

Hosler's three-back adjustment proved wise as MSU maintained defensive integrity with the added central defender. The Spartans still allowed the freedom necessary for wing defenders Beerworth and Watson to pose problems offensively.

In the 67th minute, Beerworth struck again on the right wing, this time feeding the feet of sophomore midfielder Bella Najera right inside the 18-yard box. Najera’s first attempt was promptly blocked but she quickly collected her own rebound, shifted the ball out of her feet and smashed one off the post and in the back of the net, extending the lead to 2-0 for MSU.

The Badgers, increasingly desperate with 20 minutes left, pushed numbers forward but never found a quality chance to even halve their deficit.

The Spartans will be back in action Sunday, Oct. 20 at DeMartin Stadium for their penultimate Big Ten regular season game against Northwestern. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Big Ten Plus will stream the game.