Evans’ Hat Trick Guides Spartans to Upset of No. 19 Colorado - Michigan State Athletics

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• MSU 4, CU 2 (Box Score)

Next Game:

at Illinois

9/18/2022 | 2 pm ET

Sep. 18 (Sun) / 2 pm ET

at Illinois

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's soccer booked its most impressive victory of the season on Sunday, as the Spartans notched a thrilling 4-2 win over the No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes at DeMartin Stadium.
 
After yielding a score early in the first half, the Spartans scored four unanswered goals highlighted by a hat trick from senior forward Camryn Evans. The victory marks the first MSU win over a ranked opponent since downing then-No. 16 Penn State in a 3-1 Senior Day shootout on Oct. 16, 2016 on Old College Field. The victory also marks the first ranked win of the Jeff Hosler era, who has amassed 15 overall victories in less than a year and a half in East Lansing.
 
Evans' three-goal game was the first Spartan hat trick since Gia Wahlberg sent in a quartet of scores in a 5-1 home rout of Marshall on Aug. 25, 2019. Evans becomes the fourth MSU player to record a hat trick on Old College Field, as she joins program legends in Wahlberg, Hannah Jones, and newly-inducted Michigan State Athletics Hall-of-Famer Laura (Heyboer) Heethuis, who was recognized by the athletic department at halftime of Sunday's contest.
 
The win sees MSU climb to 5-1-2 at the conclusion of non-conference play, while Colorado suffers its first defeat of the year and falls even with MSU at 5-1-2. Michigan State dominated all facets of the game, building a 25-10 edge in shots, while recording a 13-7 margin in shots on goal. The Spartans also amassed a 4-1 differential in corner kicks on the day.
 
In addition to Evans, junior forward MJ Andrus added a goal, while freshman forward Courtney Koehler snagged a pair of points for assists on both of Evans' scores in the run of play. Senior forward Lauren DeBeau also came away with an assist on the afternoon, finding Andrus late in the second half.
 
The Spartans got out to a strong start offensively, notching their first shot on goal early in the fourth minute. Freshman midfielder Courtney Koehler battled through the rainy conditions and took a powerful right-footed shot that sailed towards the Buffaloes net, but the Colorado keeper stood in the way. Moments later, the officials and both coaching staffs elected to suspend play due to heavy rain conditions that affected the playing surface.
 
Colorado came out of the surprise intermission with a newfound offensive drive, as Civana Kuhlmann and Kayleigh Webb's passes found a waiting Shyra James, whose shot launched off her right boot and found the back left corner of the net for the icebreaker in the ninth minute. MSU quickly rebounded offensively and logged six shots on target for the rest of the half while allowing zero from Colorado. The Green & White battled and eventually evened the score in the 33rd minute, as Koehler found Evans on the far-left side of a soaked field. Her one-on-one battle with the goalkeeper resulted in a Spartan score, deadlocking the game before halftime.
 
MSU continued to roll early in the second period, absolutely dominating the battle for possession, while compiling a litany of shot attempts in the process. The Spartans found themselves in a two-on-one counterattack in the 48th minute just outside the circle. The team's first-half scoring connection struck once again, as a magnificent lead pass from Koehler to a blazing-fast Evans down the middle of the field resulted in yet another one-one one scoring opportunity. The keeper charged at Evans but overran the Spartan forward, and Evans sent her right-footed shot into an open goal to take a 2-1 edge.
 
The Spartans tacked on an insurance goal for good measure in the 73rd minute, when a crisp feed from DeBeau reached Andrus for the score. Evans closed out the Spartan scoring with a penalty kick in the 86th minute following a Colorado foul inside the box. The Buffaloes tallied one more goal in the final minute of play, with James finding Webb to finalize the 4-2 score.
 
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Kozal stood watch for the full 90 minutes and tallied four saves while recording the winning decision. For the Buffaloes, team captain Dani Hansen also played the full game and recorded nine saves while yielding four scores. Hansen was saddled with her first loss of the season.
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
MICHIGAN STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Jeff Hosler
On senior forward Camryn Evans,
"It's been a long winding road of a career for Cam. She had an incredible freshman year, but she has been force to work through a lot of different things during her time. Everyone saw a glimpse of Cam Evans hitting her full potential today, and I could not be more proud of her performance and effort."
 
On the significance of the win prior to Big Ten play,
"It's massive. We'll just have to keep raising that floor, until we can touch our ceiling as a team. We've had moments where we take two big steps forward and one step back. I think we took two big steps forward, and I think all of the conversations we've had this week will continue to keep driving our team forward into Big Ten play. We play in arguably the best league in the country, so the effort we showed today has to become the standard."
 
Senior Forward Camryn Evans
On what she saw on her two breakaway goals…
"I mean when that ball came in from Courtney, I just was looking straight at the goal and where I was putting it. I didn't really see the keeper I just wanted to put that away and get out."
 
On the team's adjustment to the field conditions…
"We had to just focus on hitting out feet where they were supposed to be and overhitting our passes, they were dying out pretty quick. I mean overhitting them and making sure that we made the plays we needed to make."
 
Senior Goalkeeper Lauren Kozal
On playing in the rain…
"Super fun obviously, both teams had to deal with the weather, but I think we were good in winning our battles through that and playing through that and adjusting our game through that. Super fun and we came out on top so it was great."
 
On limiting Colorado defensively…
"We really locked them down, prepared really well, knew what they were trying to do and we worked together to cut that out the best that we could and we're really successful doing that. Unfortunately, the two goals are not my favorite and not the best, but we will learn from it and grow for there."
 
SCORING SUMMARY
9' – Kuhlmann's pinpoint pass found a waiting James on the left side of the penalty area, whose attempt found the back left corner of the net for the icebreaker. CU 1, MSU 0
 
33' – In a torrential downpour, a pass from Koehler placed Evans in a one-on-one situation against the goalie, and Evans' right-footed effort found the bottom center of the net for the equalizer. MSU 1, CU 1
 
48' – The Koehler-to-Evans connection struck once more, as Koehler started the counterattack around the circle and sent a lead pass to Evans about 40 yards out. Once again in a one-on-one situation, Evans allowed the keeper to over-pursue and sent an uncontested shot into the net for the game-winner. MSU 2, CU 1
 
73' – The Spartans tacked on an insurance goal for good measure, when a crisp feed from DeBeau reached Andrus for the score. MSU 3, CU 1
 
86' – Evans closed out the Spartan scoring with a penalty kick following a Colorado foul inside the box. MSU 4, CU 1
 
90' – The Buffaloes tallied one more goal in the final minute of play, with James finding Webb to finalize the 4-2 score. MSU 4, CU 2
 
UP NEXT
Michigan State women's soccer begins its 29th season of Big Ten Conference competition on Sunday, Sept. 18, as the Spartans hit the road to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini at Demirjian Park in a 2 p.m. (ET) start.
 
FOLLOW THE SPARTANS
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State women's soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women's soccer team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WSoccer.

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