Erin Grady
EAST LANSING — Michigan State women’s soccer opened up Big Ten play at home, hosting its Big Ten regular season co-champions, the Nebraska Cornhuskers from a year ago. The Spartans fought for 90 minutes, remaining undefeated with a 4-1 victory.
The Cornhuskers fell to 3-5, while the Spartans reached 7-0-2 with efforts from four different scorers. Graduate students Meg Hughes and Emily Mathews netted first-half goals, while senior Jordyn Wickes and sophomore Ella Janz closed out the second half with a goal each.
Hughes kicked off the scoring for the Spartans, netting her fifth goal of the season, courtesy of an assist from Gabby Mueller. MSU dominated the remainder of the half, maintaining most of the possession.
Head coach Jeff Hosler commented on the defense, specifically Mueller.
“The most impressive thing about Gabby’s performance today was the defensive work,” Hosler said. “The ability to recover and transition defensively, win back balls near the top of our box, and hold the territory for us.”
With just under three minutes left in the first half, Nebraska’s Sadie Waite tied the game back up with a shot off the crossbar. However, it didn’t take long for the Spartans to take back the lead. Just under two minutes later, Mathews shot a dart into the top-left corner from outside the box, extending Michigan State’s lead. Mathews added to her team lead in goals with her sixth of the season.
After multiple missed opportunities, the Spartans finally capitalized on their chances, as Jordyn Wickes gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead off the assist from Justina Gaynor. Wickes said this goal was “an emotional moment” for her after returning from injury.
“It’s been really hard to come back from this, and to be able to see myself out there making a difference and to watch the ball go in the back of the net like it used to for me was everything,” Wickes said.
Another goal from Janz extended the lead for MSU, and the Spartans won by a final score of 4-1 in their Big Ten home opener.
The Spartans will head back on the road this Sunday, Sept. 22 to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions.