“I thought there was quality all over the field and we had a great showing from our depth,” head coach Jeff Hosler said. 

Quick starts and late heroics have defined the Spartans' success this season. They have scored 4 goals inside the first seven minutes of games and 5 in the final seven. Much to the relief of the players and coaching staff, Thursday's tone was set by a quick goal, not a desperate rescue.

Senior forward Emerson Sargeant opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a diving header off a ball from senior midfielder Kayla Briggs. It was Sargeant’s fifth goal of the campaign.

Senior forward Kennedy Bell added another goal in the 30th minute. Briggs got the assist again, notching her up to 8 for the season.

The two-goal cushion provided a much more comfortable match for star players to bolster their stat lines and for fresh faces to gain experience. 

The Spartans had 8 shots on target in the first half and wasted no time getting the second half started. 

Thirteen seconds in, Bell easily slotted the ball into the back of the net for her second of the night and eighth of the season. Junior midfielder Kaleigh McPherson got the assist right from kick off, topping off a superb night with her first goal contribution of the season.

“I’m really proud of (Bell). When she didn’t score on the first chance she had, she continued to want the ball instead of hiding, which led to a really good performance by her,” Hosler said. 

Senior forward Ella Janz scored the fourth goal in the 73rd minute; it's the first time she's scored 3 goals in a season. Bell provided the assist, her sixth of the season.

The Spartans’ senior stars showed out. While Hosler made 11 substitutions, none were as effective in attack as his starters.

Still, MSU recorded a season-high 13 shots on goal. The Spartans were excellent in all phases of play for the entire match, a level of consistency that has been lacking in some results.

“We’ve worked through the adversity of not executing to the potential we know we have,” Bell said. “While it’s not great going through it in the moment, I think looking back, it’ll be great to see how we went through it and how we can grow from it.”

Defensively, the Spartans continued to improve upon their recent performances.

“If you give Minnesota an inch, they're gonna take a yard,” Hosler said. “I thought we did a really good job of not giving them space.”

Junior defender Julia Belli, who has been at the heart of the defense this season, perfected the balance of when to step in and when to delay. She constantly thwarted Minnesota near the halfway line and rarely allowed them to progress. Alongside Belli, sophomore defender Mackenzie Kruer was excellent in her decision-making and leadership.

“We were really good at shutting down their outlets in transition, not allowing them to get a shot in the box,” sophomore goalkeeper Noelle Henning said. “You want that from your backline, so I’m really proud of them.”

Henning recorded 4 saves to keep her third straight clean sheet, a perfect record since returning from the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. It was the thirteenth shutout of her career, tying her at seventh in the Spartan record book. She holds a shutout streak of 287 minutes going back to North Carolina. 

“My hope is that the performance today will give us some additional confidence going into this matchup with Purdue on Sunday,” Hosler said. “It’ll be a real pivotal one in the Big Ten race.”

The Spartans face No. 25 Purdue at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, in West Lafayette, Indiana. The game will stream live on Big Ten Plus.