EAST LANSING — A little rain never stopped the Michigan State women’s soccer team as they were able to take down the undefeated No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes 4-2 on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans were led by graduate forward Camryn Evans who scored a hat trick in front of the home crowd.

Today’s results put the Spartans at 5-1-2, while the Buffaloes are seeing this first loss take their record to 5-1-2. 

After a hard first loss of the season to No. 11 Arkansas, and a scoreless draw against Oakland, the frustrated Spartans came out more focused and played dominant against their undefeated opponents.

“We’ve had moments where we take two big steps forward and a step back, and I think we took two really big steps forward,” said head coach Jeff Hosler. “It was foot on the gas today.”

The game was halted five minutes into the contest due to a rain delay agreed upon by both coaches at the start of the match. They started the match again after 45 minutes.

Despite the weather conditions, both teams came out fighting in the first half. While the Spartans tried to keep possession the Buffaloes made a strong impression with a goal from junior forward Shyra James early on. James has been a powerhouse for Colorado after having a 10-game scoring streak that was recently broken after the team’s 1-1 draw against Michigan on Thursday.

As the rain plagued the players on the field, the energy on the pitch did not waver. At the end of the first half, Evans sank one behind the net, assisted by freshman midfielder Courtney Koehler. Evans and Koehler also put up MSU’s second goal at the start of the second half. 

Lot's of 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣' and 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣' goal celly's went on today for @MSU_wsoccer, as they took down No. 19 Colorado 4-1. 🔥

Watch all 4 goals⤵️ pic.twitter.com/lAC00ecHDB

— Michigan State on BTN (@MichiganStOnBTN) September 11, 2022

“The people cheering me on helped me get the ball behind the net,” said Evans. “Last time Colorado came to our house they beat us pretty bad, so being able to come back out and show up as we did was amazing.”

The Spartan’s third goal came later in the 72nd minute from junior forward MJ Andrus, assisted by senior forward Lauren Debeau. 

The fourth and final goal came again from Evans on a penalty kick. Evans’ hat trick put her at six for the season and is now leading her team in goals. 

Evans scored only three goals last season in 18 games.

“I’m so thrilled for Camryn [Evans]. It’s been a long, winding road in her career,” said Hosler. “Everyone saw a glimpse of Cam Evans and the potential she’s capable of.”

Along with Evans’ two shots, the forward also got four shots on goal and was a constant threat for Buff’s goalkeeper Dani Hansen, who had a handful of impressive saves to stop Evans and sophomore forward Jordyn Wickes. 

In the dying minutes of the match, Colorado midfielder Kayleigh Webb got a shot in to take the score to 4-2, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Spartans. The Spartans outshot their opponents a dominant 25-10 and a 4-1 number in corner kicks. 

The Spartans will begin Big Ten Conference play as they hit the road to take on the Illinois Illini for a 2 p.m. start on Sunday, September 18th.