Michigan State women’s soccer looked to extend their six-game unbeaten streak against Penn State at DeMartin Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions came into the game ranked 4th in the nation with a record of 9-0-2.
Coming into Sunday, Michigan State had outscored opponents 10-2 in Big Ten play.
The Nittany Lions came to play early. In the 6th minute, senior forward Payton Linnehan found the back of the net with the help of a pretty assist from senior defender Eva Alonso.
In the 26th minute, Penn State redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean capitalized on a Michigan State turnover to put the Nittany Lions up 2-0.
Despite the Spartans controlling the possession in the first half, they were unable to get one past Penn State graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman.
The Spartans started the second half hot. Graduate defender Raegan Cox put Michigan State on the board with her second goal of the season. She was set up with an assist from sophomore midfielder Emerson Sargeant.
With 11 minutes remaining in the game, there was a collision in the Michigan State box between Spartan graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks and Penn State redshirt junior midfielder Olivia Damico, which resulted in a penalty kick. After the call was upheld by VAR, senior midfielder Cori Dyke converted the penalty to put Penn State up 3-1.
Penn State would hold on to win the game 3-1, handing Michigan State their first Big Ten loss of the season.
“It’s a super frustrating result,” head coach Jeff Hosler said post-game.
However, there are positives that Michigan State can take away from this matchup with a conference rival.
“If that’s the fourth-ranked team in the country, it shows what we are capable of,” Hosler said.
The Spartans are now 8-3-2 on the year, and now have a week off until they face Michigan in Ann Arbor next Saturday.