“It’s good to feel these emotions,” senior midfielder Ella Janz said. “We’re gonna use it to fuel us. My only focus right now is winning the day. The team is not gonna be where we need to be if we don’t win today or if we don’t perform today at training. It’s day-by-day. Losses come; it’s part of being on a team.”

Despite the disheartening defeat, the Spartans only dropped one place in the polls. Hosler said he has been reiterating to his team that rankings don’t win games, but that they can devastate opponents nonetheless.

“It can extinguish belief a little bit,” Hosler said. “I hope whether we’re No. 2 or No. 25, or whatever the ranking is, that our players understand that our reputation this year has the ability to suffocate opponents if we perform the right way.”

The Spartans have a quick turnaround to get their confidence back. MSU hosts Nebraska Thursday and No. 18 Washington Sunday at DeMartin Stadium.

Janz said many of her teammates have circled the Washington game as a crucial one. After losing in the Big Ten Championship on penalties to the Huskies and coming second to them in the regular season, the matchup could determine the outcome of the Spartans’ season.

“We have been looking forward to (Washington) since we saw it on our schedule,” Janz said. “Girls on the team who had moments in that game that they wish they could take back have been thinking about this game every single day.”

Nebraska is 0-1-2 in the Big Ten, and Washington is 2-0-1. No team in the Big Ten has a perfect record. The Huskers and the Huskies pose similar threats as highly physical, direct-attacking teams. Hosler said he is looking at both teams’ height as a potential danger.

“There’s a belief that we truly can beat anybody we play,” Hosler said. “It's still college soccer. You have to execute.”

From a statistical standpoint, Hosler said he is focusing on making sure his team generates seven to nine chances with a high xG (expected goals) each game to set themselves up for success.

“We’re not gonna score every chance, we’re not even gonna score on every great chance we get, that’s just the way the sport is,” Hosler said. “It’s if we can generate enough of them and capitalize on one out of every three great chances."

On the defensive side of things, Hosler’s biggest concern is limiting lapses in effort and concentration. Allowing three goals in seven minutes was the Spartans’ worst defensive display all season.

“We’ve had a couple blowups,” Hosler said. “But all in all, we’re in a much better spot than we were a year ago defensively in terms of goals conceded, chances allowed, corners conceded. I think the group feels better defensively and sometimes just how you feel matters.”

Hosler said the center back position was the biggest question mark going into the season, but that sophomore defender Mackenzie Kruer has stepped up and become an important piece of the defensive structure.

“I think we’re still getting our groove together and finding that connection,” Kruer said. “It’s getting better each day.”

The defensive cohesion is made more complicated by the Spartans’ goalkeeping situation. Sophomore goalkeeper Noelle Henning trained Wednesday after returning from the U-20 Women’s World Cup. Henning will not be available against Nebraska, but could start against Washington. For Hosler, this creates a selection headache between two number ones, Henning and senior Bella Schopp, but he said “only time will tell” which one will keep the starting spot.

“Bella has done a great job; she really has, in Noelle’s absence,” Hosler said. “I know Noelle’s gonna step right in and add something different.”

Kruer said the loss on Sunday has given her something to learn from, but not to dwell on. She said the team had watched the game back and looked at what they could have done better, but that the real focus is on moving forward.

“Having that hard loss can kind of break people down and have people turn inwards,” Kruer said. “We’re really looking to not let that loss impact the next couple of games coming up.”

For Hosler, reviewing film from Sunday’s game was about reframing toughness as a mentality and body language issue, not just pure physicality. 

Kruer and Janz both said their team’s closeness has helped them process the loss. 

“Out of my four years here, this is the closest the team has been,” Janz said.

“They’re all really humble kids,” Hosler said. “We’ve got some of the best players in college soccer on our roster. They’re super level-headed and they’re bigger fans of their teammates than they are of themselves.”