EAST LANSING- The No. 5 seeded Michigan State women’s soccer team will face off against the No. 4 seeded Texas Longhorns in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Durham, NC.  

This is the Spartans third straight appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Last season they defeated Harvard 1-0 before falling to BYU in the third round.  

 The Spartans defeated the Western Michigan Broncos 3-1 in their first-round matchup at DeMartin Stadium. MSU recorded goals from graduate midfielders Emily Mathews,  Justina Gaynor, and sophomore forward Bella Najera in the win.   

The Longhorns won the SEC Tournament Championship and presented a huge challenge for the Spartans in this matchup.  

The positive for the Spartans in this matchup is that they played in one of the most competitive conferences in women’s soccer, so tough competition is nothing new to them. 

Texas defeated the Boston University 4-1 in their first-round matchup at home in Austin, TX. After trailing 1-0 early, senior forward Holly Ward’s four goals propelled the Longhorns to an impressive 4-1 win.  

Ward will be a player to watch for the Longhorns in this second-round matchup against MSU. Ward collected eight goals in the regular season and seven assists.  

Other players to watch include senior midfielder Lexi Missimo and freshman forward Amalia Villarreal. Missimo leads the Longhorns with 12 goals on the season. 

The winner of this matchup will face off against the winner of the Duke-Texas Tech matchup in the third round.  

 The Spartans will look to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. The first touch from Koskinen Stadium in Durham, NC is set for 4 p.m.