A Buzzer-Beating Header and a Battle with No. 1

No. 4 Michigan State and USC provided plenty of thrilling action in the final tune-ups before Big Ten play begins next week. 

Michigan State Stays Unbeaten with Last-Second Goal 

In a high-scoring second half that featured all the match’s goals, the Spartans found themselves down 2-1 in the waning seconds at Notre Dame. That’s when Lacey Kindel sent a service into the box that was headed twice – first by Kayla Briggs and then by Ella Janz – before going into the net to  tie the match with four seconds left . 

Thursday’s draw with the Fighting Irish brings Michigan State’s non-conference record to 4-0-2, featuring two wins against top-12 teams (No. 7 North Carolina and No. 12 Colorado). The Spartans will begin Big Ten play next Thursday with a trip to USC.  Read more .  

USC Fights to a Draw with No. 1 Stanford 

Speaking of the Trojans, they traveled upstate to Palo Alto to take on the top-ranked Cardinal on Thursday night. After falling behind 1-0, USC responded with goals from Jaiden Rodriguez and Peyton Nakagawara and took a 2-1 lead in the 54^th minute. USC remained in front for over 30 minutes until Stanford’s Brooke Holden redirected a cross for the equalizer. It was one of the few shots Josie Biehl couldn’t stop – the freshman made a career-high seven saves for the Trojans.  More on the match . 

USC will look to take the confidence gained in this showdown with No. 1 into next week’s Big Ten opener against the No. 4 Spartans.  

The action does not slow down, with more ranked matchups ahead this weekend:

• No. 8 Ohio State welcomes in No. 23 Memphis on Sunday night for a top-25 matchup in Columbus. The Buckeyes are 1-0-1 against ranked opponents this season, tying No. 25 Clemson before defeating No. 12 Kansas. 
• Northwestern takes its four-game undefeated streak down to Knoxville, where it will face off against No. 10 Tennessee.  

Check out the complete schedule for  women’s soccer  this weekend. 

Photo courtesy of  msuspartans.com