Michigan State women's soccer takes second-half lead, but falls at BYU in Sweet 16

For a moment Saturday night, it looked like Michigan State’s women’s soccer team might just be on its way to the Elite Eight. But it was only a moment.

Less than four minutes after Gabby Mueller gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead over top seed and host BYU, the Cougars earned a penalty kick and capitalized and, five minutes later, took the lead and control with an incredible shot from distance by Brecken Mozingo, the same woman who buried the penalty kick just out of the reach of MSU’s Kaitlyn Parks.

BYU added another goal late for a 3-1 win, ending the Spartans’ season in the Sweet 16.

“It’s been a probably of ours all year, after we score, other teams have been able to take advantage. They did again tonight,” MSU coach Jeff Hosler said. “Postseason soccer is a fragile thing. If you give a team like BYU that many chances, they’re going to find a way to take advantage.”

Mueller’s shot — from above the 18-yard box, cutting a shot back across the goal and into the side netting — put the Spartans ahead 1-0 in the 52nd minute. The shot came against the run of play at the time, though MSU wasn’t outclassed all night. Down 2-1, the Spartans were largely on the front foot for an extended spell and the entire scoreless first half was relatively even in terms of possession and chances.

“It was massive,” Hosler said of Mueller's goal. “Especially for a kid like that, who’s stepped up in some really big moments all year, to find the back of the net, that gives your team even more belief that you can go get the result.

“The magnitude of the match, this is uncharted territory for our program, for all the players on our roster, to play the way we did Thursday, turn that around on short notice, be able to do it again in front of this incredible crowd, I think we grew a lot as a program today.”

The loss ends another banner season for MSU, which finished 13-5-1 and was the fifth seed in BYU’s region. The Spartans got a step further in the NCAA tournament than a year ago, beating unseeded Ohio at home and 4-seed Harvard in Provo, Utah, on Thursday, before facing BYU on Saturday night.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU women's soccer takes second-half lead, falls at BYU in Sweet 16