​Following two wins on the West Coast over USC and UCLA, the Michigan State women’s soccer team ascended to the No. 1 spot in the United Soccer Coaches poll for the second time in program history ahead of its rivalry matchup with Michigan on Sept. 20.The Wolverines came into DeMartin Field with a 1-1 conference record, falling to Northwestern before defeating Illinois, and with four straight losses in the series with MSU.But behind three goals in an eight-minute span in the second half, U-M upended the Spartans, 3-1, handing MSU its first loss of the season.”We need to become tougher to beat, and we’d done a great job of that in our trip to Los Angeles, but some self-inflicted, lack-of-discipline moments cost us a massive result today,” MSU coach Jeff Hosler said. “You know, I thought we’d worked this out of our system, some of the early season stuff. There were times where we looked tired and didn’t make the effort with the discipline that we needed.”It was a wet and rainy atmosphere on Sunday as the Red Cedar rowdies filled the DeMartin stands. Each side slipped and slid to a 0-0 draw through the first 45 minutes before the Spartans started the second half with a punch.Senior forward Emerson Sargeant picked up the ball on MSU’s side of midfield and went on an impressive individual run before rocketing a shot past U-M goalkeeper Malia Zillman to put the Spartans up 1-0.Sargeant dribbles up the sideline and does this one all by herself. 1-0 MSU! pic.twitter.com/s29rYIdpzc— Michigan State Women’s Soccer (@MSU_wsoccer) September 20, 2026U-M responded off a corner kick in the 62nd minute when forward Ella Jablinskey booted a shot through traffic in the box and past MSU goalkeeper Bella Schopp. MSU was without typical starting goalkeeper Noelle Henning, who was playing with the Canadian women’s national team.Three minutes later, the Wolverines would add another on the counter attack, when forward Melisa Kekic fed Jablinskey for her second goal.Then in the 68th minute, off another U-M corner kick, the ball fell to Jablinskey again. This time, she snuck a pass behind the MSU back line to Maya Raghunandanan, who delivered a shot past a diving Schopp to extend the Wolverines’ lead.”Lack of discipline got us today, and to concede two goals on set pieces is uncharacteristic,” Hosler said. “The lack of intensity and effort in those key moments was really poor, and even the discipline on the counter attacking, but really uncharacteristic mistakes.”The Spartans pressed to get back into the game, but ultimately couldn’t find the back of the net again. MSU outshot the Wolverines 21-17, including a 10-5 edge in shots on target. MSU (6-1-2) will host Nebraska on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. at DeMartin Field. Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_BottThis article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: No. 1-ranked MSU women’s soccer stumbles in 3-1 home loss to Michigan