"She said to me, 'I know I have to look at other schools, but I really love it here,'" Kris said. "She looked at a bunch of schools, and I wanted her to make her own decision without feeling like she had to choose what I wanted."

Sophia’s path ultimately led her to the same green and white her mom once wore.

"I grew up coming to so many alumni events and games over the years," Sophia said. "She was a big part of me coming here."

Now, Sophia is carving out her own legacy in East Lansing. Since Sophia committed to MSU, she and her mom started a healthy competition of who would score more goals for the Spartans.

Kris, in her day, scored just one goal for Michigan State. As a center back, opportunities to get in front of goal were few and far between. But her goal came in spectacular fashion – a rivalry game-winner in extra time. 

"I feel like it should count for more than one goal, but [Sophia] wouldn’t agree," Kris said. "It’s not even a competition, though, because she already won."

Sophia has scored two goals so far for the Spartans — one in her freshman year against Eastern Michigan and another this season on the road at Wisconsin. While those goals reflect her hard work for Michigan State, they only hint at the kind of player she is.

"Soph is much more than a legacy story," said head coach Jeff Hosler. "She is such a committed player to our program. She’s someone that we all know is always doing the work, whether someone is looking or not. She’s a kid you more often have to tell to chill out and take a break than worry about what she needs to go out and do."

Sophia credits much of her development to her mom, who coached her growing up — at least until she reached the top level of travel soccer. She went on to play for the Michigan Hawks, helping the club win State Cup championships in 2018 and 2020. While with the Hawks, she was also selected for the Michigan Olympic Development Program state team in 2018 and 2019.

This impressive resume is what led her to MSU.

"She’s highly driven, highly motivated," Hosler said. "She’s an incredible teammate, a really hard worker, very coachable. She doesn’t make excuses. We’re super fortunate to have her in our program."

As Sophia thrives in the modern era of college soccer, Kris reflected on how much the sport and the student-athlete experience has changed since her playing days.

"She always tells me she’s so jealous of the stuff we get now," Sophia said. "When I come home with a new pair of shoes or new sweatshirts or whatever it is — and just how many more opportunities there are now and how much the level is raised — she’s like, 'I could never play there now.'"

Kris recalled that when she played, uniforms and cleats were often the only gear provided — and women’s sizes weren’t even available at the time.

"You know, just the people she gets to talk to, like help for school or help with the mental side of things — we had nothing like that," Kris said. "Everything else they put in now raises the level. They put in so much more time than we ever did. It’s a full-time job. Even the travel is more because of how the conference has grown. They just put in more time because the competition has gotten that much better, that’s the only way to compete."

While the competition has gotten more intense, MSU women’s soccer is having a season of highs and nationwide recognition. For Sophia, it’s been special to have her family alongside her for the successes and the heartbreaks. 

"She’s at every game," Sophia said. "It’s so awesome having both my parents as such supportive people in my life that are with me through this."

For Kris, watching her daughter take the same field she once did has been emotional.

"It was special for my parents because they got to come see me play and now, they get to come see her play here, too," Kris said.

Sophia isn’t just living up to her family name but creating her own path in green and white. A player adored by her teammates and coaches, she has given the Piotrowski name even more weight in the Spartan soccer program.

"There are so many players that their kids can’t ever live up to that expectation – it’s impossible when their parents were elite D1 players at a level like MSU or the Big Ten," Hosler said. 

Sophia has done more than just live up to her mom’s legacy. Between the goals she’s scored, her reputation as a hard-worker and her contributions to MSU in such a successful stretch for the program, Sophia has made her Spartan family proud.