Michigan State women’s soccer falls to Penn State in Big Ten final, will face Milwaukee in NCAA Tournament

Michigan State women’s soccer fell to Penn State on Sunday in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. The final score was 3-2.

After defeating both Minnesota and Nebraska in the first two rounds, MSU couldn’t get past the Nittany Lions for a second time around. Earlier in the season, MSU shocked Penn State on the road for an upset victory.

After trailing late in the game, senior forward Lauren DeBeau tied it at 2-2, potentially forcing an extra session.

However, Penn State wasn’t finished and marched down the field to pressure MSU, resulting in a game-winning header from Ally Schlegel, her second goal of the game. That means the Nittany Lions get the auto-bid for being the Big Ten champions.

Michigan State earned a No. 4-seed in the 64-team NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament, which was announced on Monday afternoon. MSU will host Milwaukee this Friday, Nov. 11. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. Eastern Time at DeMartin Stadium. Where the game will broadcast, however, is still to be announced.

Michigan State’s historic run is capped by a season in which the program went 16-2-3 with sole losses coming to highly-ranked Arkansas and a Big Ten Tournament final loss to Penn State.

MSU Athletic Director Alan Haller is impressed with head coach Jeff Hosler’s turnaround.

If MSU defeats Milwaukee on Friday, the Spartans will face the winner of the TCU-UTSA matchup the following weekend.

The full bracket can be accessed here. The first four rounds of the tournament will be hosted by the higher-seeded schools and the semifinals/finals, referred to as the College Cup, will be hosted in Cary, North Carolina.