Per MSU Athletics:
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State head women’s soccer Jeff Hosler announced the Spartans’ 2023 schedule with the Big Ten Champions opening the season on Aug. 24.
“After another great year, we are really looking forward to this fall, and the schedule it brings,” Hosler said. “We have set ourselves up with a very strong non-conference schedule that should help shape our RPI and will test us in a wide variety of ways.”
The 2023 schedule includes eight non-conference games and 10 Big Ten battles. Michigan State’s slate will include a return game against Colorado on Aug. 27. Last season, the Spartans defeated the Pac-12’s Buffaloes in East Lansing, 4-2. MSU will also travel to ACC country to play at N.C. State on Sept. 7.
Michigan State will be tested by tough competition, as four of its opponents saw action in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Fellow Big Ten opponents Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers saw action in the postseason. Notre Dame and Penn State went the farthest, reaching the third round.
“We will have to learn to embrace life on the road with some marquee matchups in the trips to Colorado and NC State,” Hosler said. “And then results get even more challenging with a stacked Big Ten slate. The support we received at home last year was amazing, and we will continue to lean on that advantage created by record crowds this past fall.”
After a pair of exhibition matches, MSU will open the season with a pair of home games against Cincinnati (Aug. 17) and Bowling Green (Aug. 20). Michigan State will then head to the Centennial State for a pair of games. The Spartans travel to Northern Colorado (Aug. 24) and Colorado (Aug. 27), before closing out the month at home against Eastern Michigan (Aug. 31).
Big Ten play begins on Sept. 17 with a game with the Spartans hosting Ohio State. From there, the squad hits the road for back-to-back contests at Minnesota on Sept. 21 and at Wisconsin on Sept. 24. MSU will host Maryland on Sept. 28, before hosting Big Ten Tournament Champions Penn State on Oct. 1.
The Spartans will then hit the road for a season-long three-straight games, beginning at in-state rival Michigan on either Oct. 8 or 9. Michigan State will then travel to Indiana (Oct. 12) and at Rutgers (Oct. 15) in the regular-season road finale. MSU will take on Illinois on Oct. 19, while Iowa serves as the opponent for the Spartans’ home finale on Oct. 22.
The defending Big Ten regular-season champion Spartans had a historic 2022 season, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. The Spartans ended the season with a 17-3-3 overall record and went 9-0-1 in league contests.
