Michigan State Women's Soccer Downs Washington 3-0, Moves Into Big Ten Tie

No. 2 Michigan State handed Washington its first loss of the season in East Lansing, pulling even with Purdue and Ohio State at 4-1 atop the Big Ten women's soccer standings.

Michigan State's women's soccer team defeated Washington 3-0 on Sunday at DeMartin Stadium in East Lansing. The loss was the first of the season for the Huskies, who had allowed only four goals all year. The win moved No. 2 MSU into a tie for first in the Big Ten with Purdue and Ohio State, all three teams at 4-1 in conference play.

The stakes went beyond the standings. Washington beat MSU on penalty kicks in last fall's Big Ten tournament final after a 1-1 draw, a game the Spartans outshot the Huskies 16-6 without finding a winner. "We've had this game on the calendar for the past year," fourth-year midfielder Bella Najera said.

Coach Jeff Hosler said his players began reviewing last season as soon as it ended and believed they had left points on the table during the regular season. He noted that Washington earned the regular-season title by two points a year ago even though the teams never met. A Big Ten tournament trophy remains one of the few achievements still missing from the Spartans' last five seasons.

The victory also corrected MSU's course after a rough stretch. An upset loss to Michigan the previous weekend, the program's first defeat of the season, came after a short lapse in concentration produced a burst of Wolverines goals and dropped the Spartans from the No. 1 spot in the RPI rankings. MSU then slipped past Nebraska on Thursday in a performance that fell well short of its standard.

Hosler said beating Washington will likely lift MSU back to No. 1 in the RPI, though the Spartans also sit No. 2 in the coaches poll. The program built this season's schedule and roster around securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and the chance to host matches all the way to the semifinals.

Fourth-year midfielder Ella Janz, a Northville native, put the Spartans ahead in the third minute. Freshman Lacey Kindel doubled the lead in the 61st minute, and third-year midfielder Grace Jackson closed out the scoring in the 73rd.

Kindel turned 17 on Sunday and marked the occasion with her first goal in a Spartan uniform. "It feels amazing. I've been waiting for it to come, and it was just such a special day to have it," she said. She will leave the team Oct. 6 for about a month to play for Canada at the U-17 World Cup, and freshman reserve goalkeeper Samantha Powell is also slated to join the Canadian squad. Hosler has praised Kindel's physicality in training and called the teenager "world class."

Jackson's goal was a milestone for a midfielder whose first two seasons, and the spring, were disrupted by long injury layoffs. Hosler described it as a "massive" moment for a player who kept working and stayed prepared. In goal, Noelle Henning returned from Canada's run at the U-20 World Cup, where she recorded 18 saves, and added two more against the Huskies.

There was one setback: fifth-year striker Emerson Sargeant exited with a foot injury and was in a protective boot by the end of the match. Hosler said she would see a doctor Sunday and that her status going forward was uncertain. MSU, now 8-1-2 overall, visits Illinois for its next game on Sunday, Oct. 4. Hosler added that his side tightened its defensive mindset after wobbling in the previous two matches.