EAST LANSING – Ralph Young Field hosted the Colgate Raiders Sunday morning for an exhilarating home match.
Coming off a recent away game victory at Bellarmine this past Friday, the team hoped to close out their weekend with a continuation of their winning streak.
The Spartans delivered, eradicating the competition with a 5-0 shutout victory in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
MSU started off strong in the attacking zone, with Colgate struggling to maintain possession of the ball.
Bianca Pizano led the path to victory with an unassisted goal 10 minutes into the first. The score remained 1-0 for the rest of the first half, with Colgate’s one shot on the net being easily blocked by Lyra Gavino in a swift right-side save.
MSU continued to carry their momentum following halftime, leading Colgate with three additional shots on net to their zero in the first minutes of play.
A pass from Ellie Wheatley led Jillian Bonczewski to score at the ten-minute mark. With just seconds to spare in the quarter, Emma O’Neill scored a third goal for MSU with an assist from Carmen Pucheta.
Colgate stepped up their game in the fourth, but the Spartans responded with equal strength. With six minutes remaining, Colgate gained possession and rushed into State’s defensive zone.
Strong defensive pressure from the Spartans allowed Midfielder Mora Cavazza to regain the ball, who dribbled away from Colgate toward forward Brynn Shaffer in the attacking zone.
Bianca Pizano scored her second goal of the day off an assist from Shaffer. The high-scoring quarter was closed out with Ellie Rutherford assisting Lilian Knorr in a fifth goal for the Spartans with just under two minutes remaining, and Knorr was to notch her first career goal in the green and white.
Knorr’s milestone wasn’t the only stat highlighted in the victory. Sophomore goalkeeper Lyra Gavino earned the first shutout of her collegiate career.
In addition, head coach Helen Knull celebrated her one-hundredth career victory.
The Spartans’ next home game is Sept. 21 against their biggest rivals, the No. 20 ranked Michigan Wolverines Their ambitions are set high as they hope to impress once again in the home Big Ten opener.
