SAINT PAUL, Minn. - 16th-ranked and fourth-seeded Michigan State women's soccer opens postseason play on Saturday, Nov. 2 against fifth-seeded Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET at the University of Minnesota's Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
All tournament quarterfinal matches will stream on B1G+.
FIRST TOUCH
MSU (12-1-5, 7-1-3 B1G) wrapped up the regular season with a 3-1 home win over Purdue last week, finishing in fourth place in the final league standings. It marked MSU's fourth-straight top-four Big Ten finish since head coach Jeff Hosler's arrival in 2021. Prior to Hosler's arrival, MSU had not finished in the top five since 2011.
Graduate forward Mackenzie Anthony notched a first-half goal against Purdue, while freshman midfielder Kaleigh McPherson and graduate forward Meg Hughes tallied second-half scores. Hughes' goal was her team-leading seventh of the season, which also brought her 2024 point total to a team-leading 19. McPherson's goal was the first of her career. She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Tuesday this week.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers is 10-3-4 this season and finished with a 6-2-3 record in the Big Ten to finish in a tie for fifth in the final league standings. The Scarlet Knights ended regular-season play with a 1-1 home draw with Maryland on Oct. 27. Senior defender Emily Mason scored the lone Rutgers goal in that contest.
Senior forward Riley Tiernan leads the Scarlet Knights in scoring with 17 points this season from a team-leading four goals and nine assists. Shaela Bradley, Allie Post and Ashley Baran also have scored four goals this season. In goal, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer holds a 0.826 save percentage and 0.71 goals-against average.
Saturday's meeting between the two schools will be the 13th all-time and second this season. Rutgers holds a 9-2-1 edge in the series, which dates back to 2004. MSU and Rutgers have never met in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Spartans and Scarlet Knights played to a 1-1 draw in East Lansing on Sept. 29 this season. After a defensive battle through the first 80 minutes, Anthony finally broke the ice with 10 minutes to go to give MSU a 1-0 lead. In the 86th minute, a handball by the Spartans in the box awarded Rutgers a penalty kick that was slotted home by freshman Gabriela Gil to seal the 1-1 result.
MSU IN THE B1G TOURNAMENT
MSU is playing in their fourth B1G tournament in as many years this weekend. Head coach Jeff Hosler has guided the Spartans to the conference tournament in every year of his tenure so far. Saturday will be MSU's 16th all-time B1G tournament appearance since the tournament's inception in 1994. Before Hosler's arrival in 2021, MSU had not qualified to the tournament since 2011.
The Spartans are 4-15-2 all-time in the tournament. MSU has advanced to the semifinals five times - twice on penalty kicks (2008, 2011) and three times with quarterfinal round wins (1994, 2005, 2022). MSU has only made the championship game once, which came in 2022, where MSU was defeated by Penn State, 3-2.
Last season, MSU dropped its quarterfinal match to eventual champion Iowa, 2-1, in East Lansing.
UP NEXT
The Big Ten semifinals and championship are scheduled for Nov. 7 and Nov. 10, respectively, at CITYPARK in St. Louis. The winner of Saturday's quarterfinal will play the winner of B1G champion and top-seeded USC and either No. 8 Wisconsin or No. 9 Ohio State in the semifinals.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
