EAST LANSING – After ending a 13-game losing streak to Notre Dame to begin the season, the No. 8 Michigan State University women’s soccer team opened its home schedule Thursday night with a top-10 matchup against No. 9 Arkansas.
A record crowd of 3,180 spectators gathered at DeMartin Stadium and saw a total of 26 shots on goal and 16 corner kicks as the two teams fought to a 2-2 tie.
“The atmosphere was great. For Spartan Nation to come out so well today in a home game and for us to have the opportunity to see two top-10 teams is pretty special,” MSU coach Jeff Hosler said. “That enthusiasm in DeMartin really helps our players on the field and as a team, and it definitely motivated our team in the second half.”
MSU opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Providence transfer Meg Hughes ran down the left sideline and brought the ball into the box. Veteran forward Mackenzie Anthony was there to fire past the Arkansas goalkeeper to give the Spartans the lead.
“My eyes caught (defender) Taya (Hjorth) and she played me a great through ball,” Hughes said. “I used my speed to my advantage and felt like I could beat some of their defenders on the run. I saw (Anthony) and just knew I had to get the ball past the first defender and I did that. It landed at her feet and she slotted it home.”
Arkansas responded with a goal in the 22nd minute, but with the score tied 1-1, MSU midfielder Emily Matthews drew a foul in the penalty box with 7 seconds left in the first half.
Junior forward Emerson Sargeant took the penalty, which hit the crossbar and stayed out. Arkansas used that momentum to play wildly for the first five minutes of the second half, finally scoring in the 49th minute to take a 2-1 lead.
Sargeant redeemed herself in the 53rd minute when she outran a defender on the sideline and slammed a cross forward, where reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Bella Najera was waiting to put the ball in the net.
“We had to regroup, but I was excited about the response I saw in the second half,” Hosler said. “Because (Sargeant) is relentless and plays with grit, she’s going to be a difficult player for the other teams to play. I think we had two 5-minute stretches in the second half where we weren’t good, but I think we’ll go back and look at the footage and look at a couple of moments that we wish we had again because the outcome could have been different.”
Razorback defender Avery Wren received a second yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct in the 70th minute, which disqualified her and reduced Arkansas to 10 players for the final period. During that time, MSU pushed for an equalizer, and despite numerous chances and 12 shots on goal in the second half, the Spartans settled for the tie.
MSU (1-0-1) returns to action Sunday, hosting Ohio at 1 p.m. MSU ousted the Bobcats 3-0 in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at [email protected] and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
