Michigan State women’s soccer just continues to make history under Jeff Hosler.
A couple of years ago, the program earned its first-ever No. 1 overall ranking after an 8-0-2 start to the season and on Tuesday, the Spartans matched that honor with the second-ever No. 1 overall ranking.
Michigan State was 4-0-2 before a West Coast swing this past weekend where the Spartans beat both USC (5-0) and No. 16 UCLA (1-0) to end the weekend perfect.
After a 6-0-2 start to the year, Michigan State is the nation’s new No. 1 team.
All the way up!☝️ pic.twitter.com/dXtmFnGmUh
— Michigan State Women's Soccer (@MSU_wsoccer) September 15, 2026
What an incredible feat for a team that has been a wrecking ball through the first month of the season, beating the nation’s No. 6 and No. 16 teams on the road as well as the No. 7 team at home.
The Spartans are off to a scorching-hot start and Hosler is a big reason for this program turnaround under his tutelage. He’s seen nothing but success since taking over, leading the Spartans to two regular-season titles, two Sweet 16s, and the program’s first-ever Elite Eight appearance a season ago.
Hosler has taken the program to new heights and it looks like they’ve only built on that historic 2025 season with what could end up being an even better 2026 campaign.
How did Michigan State women’s soccer get here?
Michigan State has been in the top 10 all season, starting at No. 7, jumping into the top five, and now sitting at No. 1 overall.
It started with a couple of expected wins over Xavier and Loyola — both ending in shutouts. No. 6 North Carolina scored the first goal of the year against the Spartans, but that third game against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill went Michigan State’s way with a thrilling 3-2 victory. Eastern Michigan was able to play the Spartans to a 0-0 tie before they turned around to beat No. 7 Colorado 3-2.
A 2-2 tie at Notre Dame dropped the Spartans from No. 3 to No. 5 in the rankings but the West Coast sweep of USC and No. 16 UCLA launched Michigan State ahead of Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, and Wake Forest. This is a much-deserved ranking after posting five shutouts in the first eight games, tying for the nation’s most so far this season.
Noelle Henning and Bella Schopp have been locking things down in net with a combined 18 saves. Henning leads the way with a 0.67 goals against average and an .818 save percentage. Just locking things down completely.
This program is trending in the right direction and Hosler has accomplished many firsts. Could this be the year the Spartans win their first national championship?
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