EAST LANSING, Mich. - A pair of late second-half goals propelled No. 18 Michigan State women's soccer to a 3-1 victory over Purdue in the Spartans' regular-season finale Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium.
MSU moves to 12-1-5 overall with the win and wraps up the Big Ten portion of its schedule at 7-1-3. Purdue ends its season at 7-9-2 (3-7-1 B1G).
The Spartans secure the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with the win and will face fifth-seeded Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET in the first of four quarterfinal games at Minnesota's Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. MSU and Rutgers battled to a 1-1 draw in East Lansing on Sept. 29 this season.
"The first half I thought we played pretty well, we had much of the territory," said head coach Jeff Hosler. "We had a lot of the ball, obviously had the goal. We were generating chances. The biggest takeaway is that, our team, when we're playing well and playing with urgency, I think we're one of the best teams in the country. The good thing is we have another week of training how to get ready for our first Big Ten tournament game."
Graduate forward Mackenzie Anthony opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, registering her fourth goal of the season. Freshman midfielder Kaleigh McPherson tallied the unassisted game winner in the 82nd minute before graduate forward Meg Hughes added an 84th-minute insurance goal to secure the victory for the Spartans. In goal, graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks notched her 10th win of the season, making four saves in 90 minutes in goal.
Neither side was able to get much going in the opening 10 minutes despite a strong spell of possession from the Spartans. After Anthony had a shot blocked in the second minute, the next shot of the game came from graduate midfielder Justina Gaynor, who sent a high-flying ball over the crossbar in the 12th minute.
Purdue's Lexi Fraley got the Boilermakers' only shot of the half off in the 14th minute, but Parks was there to make the easy save to keep the game scoreless. Anthony forced the first Purdue save of the game just minutes later.
In the 23rd minute, Anthony found a loose ball in the six-yard box after Purdue goalkeeper Emily Edwards' pass slipped by Anthony's foot. Her shot went past Edwards and a Purdue defender just over the goal line to give MSU the 1-0 lead.
MSU continued to dominate the half after the Anthony goal, earning four corners while forcing a pair of saves in the final 20 minutes of the half. Despite generating several chances, MSU could not find the back of the net again, taking its 1-0 lead into the break.
The Spartans opened the second half strong with four-consecutive corner chances but could not convert for a second goal. In the 55th minute, a cross from Gaynor found the foot of Najera just outside the six, but her shot went high.
After two more shots from the Spartans, Parks made a diving save in the 62nd minute after Purdue's Gracie Dunaway ripped a shot from the top of the box to the top right corner of the net. A minute later, Dunaway equalized, sending another ball above Parks to the corner of the net in the 63rd minute.
The Boilermakers had a strong stretch of possession after the Dunaway equalizer, holding the Spartans without a shot for nearly 20 minutes while sending another pair of shots into the gloves of Parks.
A yellow card on Purdue's bench in the 80th minute gave the Spartans the momentum they needed. Sophomore defender Renee Watson forced a Purdue save before the Spartans were rewarded with a corner a minute later. Watson's corner kick found a Purdue defender, whose attempt at a clearance went straight to the foot of McPherson. Taking advantage of an opening, McPherson sent a left-footed blast to the right center of the net for the first goal of her Spartan career and a 2-1 MSU lead with under 10 minutes to go.
Continuing to pour on the offense, graduate midfielder Gabby Mueller played a ball into the box for Anthony, who found Hughes at the top of the six. Hughes slid the ball past Purdue goalkeeper Claire Wyville for the insurance goal in the 84th minute.
MSU fired off two more shots and kept Purdue to just one off-target shot in the final minutes to secure the win.
The Big Ten Tournament begins with the first round on Thursday, Oct. 31 in Minneapolis. The tournament semifinals and championship are scheduled for Nov. 7 and Nov. 10, respectively, at CITYPARK in St. Louis.
Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics
MSU moves to 12-1-5 overall with the win and wraps up the Big Ten portion of its schedule at 7-1-3. Purdue ends its season at 7-9-2 (3-7-1 B1G).
The Spartans secure the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with the win and will face fifth-seeded Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET in the first of four quarterfinal games at Minnesota's Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. MSU and Rutgers battled to a 1-1 draw in East Lansing on Sept. 29 this season.
"The first half I thought we played pretty well, we had much of the territory," said head coach Jeff Hosler. "We had a lot of the ball, obviously had the goal. We were generating chances. The biggest takeaway is that, our team, when we're playing well and playing with urgency, I think we're one of the best teams in the country. The good thing is we have another week of training how to get ready for our first Big Ten tournament game."
Graduate forward Mackenzie Anthony opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, registering her fourth goal of the season. Freshman midfielder Kaleigh McPherson tallied the unassisted game winner in the 82nd minute before graduate forward Meg Hughes added an 84th-minute insurance goal to secure the victory for the Spartans. In goal, graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks notched her 10th win of the season, making four saves in 90 minutes in goal.
Neither side was able to get much going in the opening 10 minutes despite a strong spell of possession from the Spartans. After Anthony had a shot blocked in the second minute, the next shot of the game came from graduate midfielder Justina Gaynor, who sent a high-flying ball over the crossbar in the 12th minute.
Purdue's Lexi Fraley got the Boilermakers' only shot of the half off in the 14th minute, but Parks was there to make the easy save to keep the game scoreless. Anthony forced the first Purdue save of the game just minutes later.
In the 23rd minute, Anthony found a loose ball in the six-yard box after Purdue goalkeeper Emily Edwards' pass slipped by Anthony's foot. Her shot went past Edwards and a Purdue defender just over the goal line to give MSU the 1-0 lead.
MSU continued to dominate the half after the Anthony goal, earning four corners while forcing a pair of saves in the final 20 minutes of the half. Despite generating several chances, MSU could not find the back of the net again, taking its 1-0 lead into the break.
The Spartans opened the second half strong with four-consecutive corner chances but could not convert for a second goal. In the 55th minute, a cross from Gaynor found the foot of Najera just outside the six, but her shot went high.
After two more shots from the Spartans, Parks made a diving save in the 62nd minute after Purdue's Gracie Dunaway ripped a shot from the top of the box to the top right corner of the net. A minute later, Dunaway equalized, sending another ball above Parks to the corner of the net in the 63rd minute.
The Boilermakers had a strong stretch of possession after the Dunaway equalizer, holding the Spartans without a shot for nearly 20 minutes while sending another pair of shots into the gloves of Parks.
A yellow card on Purdue's bench in the 80th minute gave the Spartans the momentum they needed. Sophomore defender Renee Watson forced a Purdue save before the Spartans were rewarded with a corner a minute later. Watson's corner kick found a Purdue defender, whose attempt at a clearance went straight to the foot of McPherson. Taking advantage of an opening, McPherson sent a left-footed blast to the right center of the net for the first goal of her Spartan career and a 2-1 MSU lead with under 10 minutes to go.
Continuing to pour on the offense, graduate midfielder Gabby Mueller played a ball into the box for Anthony, who found Hughes at the top of the six. Hughes slid the ball past Purdue goalkeeper Claire Wyville for the insurance goal in the 84th minute.
MSU fired off two more shots and kept Purdue to just one off-target shot in the final minutes to secure the win.
The Big Ten Tournament begins with the first round on Thursday, Oct. 31 in Minneapolis. The tournament semifinals and championship are scheduled for Nov. 7 and Nov. 10, respectively, at CITYPARK in St. Louis.
Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics
