EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – For the third-consecutive season, Michigan State women’s soccer has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament, as announced Monday. The Spartans are the No. 5 seed in their region and will host Western Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 16 at noon at DeMartin Stadium.
Monday’s selection is the seventh overall for the Spartans and marks the first time in program history that MSU has earned three-straight NCAA bids. It is also MSU’s third-consecutive season earning a seeded selection and first-round home game, having traveled in its first four tournament appearances (2002, 2005, 2008-09).
MSU posted its best NCAA Tournament finish last season, advancing to the third round to face top-seeded BYU after a first-round victory over Ohio and second round win against Harvard. In 2022, the Spartans defeated Milwaukee in the first round.
The winner of Saturday’s match advances to play the winner of fourth-seeded Texas and Patriot League champion Boston University. The highest remaining seed in the region after the first-round games will host the second and third rounds.
Duke is the No. 1 seed in the region, while Texas is the No. 4 seed and Texas Tech is the No. 8 seed.
The Spartans are one of 10 teams in the Big Ten to earn a bid to the tournament, joining UCLA, USC, Iowa, Penn State, Minnesota, Washington, Rutgers, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. Non-conference opponents Notre Dame and Arkansas are also in the field of 64.
MSU earns the No. 5 seed in the region after going 12-2-5 (7-1-3 B1G) in 2024. The Spartans have registered a top 25 ranking from the United Soccer Coaches every week this season, including the top ranking in the country on Sept. 24. A program-record seven Spartans – Julia Belli, Justina Gaynor, Meg Hughes, Maggie Illig, Kaleigh McPherson, Bella Najera and Kaitlyn Parks – were named to All-Big Ten teams. Fourth-year MSU head coach Jeff Hosler has now advanced to 10 NCAA Tournaments across all three divisions in his 19-year career.
Western Michigan, the 2024 Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament champions, are 13-1-6 (8-0-3 MAC) this season and will make their fourth overall NCAA Tournament appearance. Graduate forward Jen Blitchok ranks fourth in the NCAA in total goals this season with 17.
First round matches will be played Nov. 15-17, while the second and third rounds will take place on Nov. 22 and Nov. 24, respectively. The 2024 NCAA Women’s College Cup, which consists of the tournament’s semifinals and final, will take place at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, beginning on Dec. 6 and concluding on Dec. 9.
General admission tickets for Saturday’s match at DeMartin Stadium will be sold online and at the gate beginning one hour before kickoff. Gates will open at 11 a.m. Ticket and streaming information will be announced shortly.
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