Michigan State women’s soccer coach Jeff Hosler spoke to the media on Monday about his team’s upcoming 2023 season.
The Spartans are coming off of the program's first-ever officially recognized Big Ten regular season championship in 2022, posting a 9-0-1 conference record, and reached the Big Ten Tournament final for the first time in school history (losing to Penn State in the championship game by a final score of 3-2).
MSU also set a program record for wins last season with 17, including a victory over Milwaukee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Michigan State women’s soccer team kicks off the 2023 campaign on Thursday (Aug. 17) at home at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time against Cincinnati, a new member of the Big 12 Conference.
Heading into 2023, Hosler likes where his team stands.
“Really excited to kick things off again here this year," Hosler said. "Obviously all the history that we made last year, the momentum we had, also with the offseason with the transfer portal and continuing recruiting efforts. Super excited to kick off this season, excited to do it at home here at DeMartin (Stadium) Thursday night against a really quality opponent in Cincinnati that now joins a Power Five conference themselves."
The Spartans are looking to build off of the success from 2022, and continue it in 2023.
"(We've) got a really hungry group looking to make their own mark," Hosler said.
Getting more in depth about this upcoming season, Coach Hosler discussed that the makeup of his roster will look a lot different from what fans saw on the pitch last year.
Hosler noted that it's the second year in a row in which Michigan State has more new players on its roster than returners. The team still needs to work on building chemistry, but he is pleased with what he's seen thus far.
"This group's been super focused, super easy to work with to this point, and I think is really motivated to leave their mark on the '23 season."
When asked about his team's preseason No. 17 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, Hosler had a simple response.
“It's raised expectations," Hosler noted. "We expect to be in the poll week-in and week-out.”
The team also recently checked in at No. 19 in the Top Drawer Soccer national poll.
Also of note, the team will not have captains. Hosler expects everybody on the team to step up and hold each other accountable.
“We're pretty unique in that we don’t have captains within our team," Hosler said. "We really lean on the accountability of each individual to utilize their individual strengths … it allows more people to have larger voices."
Hosler went on to explain the psychology behind his decision to not have captains with a summary of “past mistakes” and lessons learned in his previous years of coaching. He mentioned he has “enabled” the wrong people in that position before and that it caused rifts in his past teams.
“It is a very unique approach," Hosler said. "It is also one that you are going to fall flat on your face if you are not working really hard to develop relationships with the individuals and help them recognize some of the different ways they have leadership ability and potential to really foster that within them.”
As mentioned, the Spartans added many transfers in the offseason, including Sofia Beerworth from New Mexico State, Gabby Mueller and Mackenzie Anthony from Baylor, and Kaitlyn Parks from Wake Forest.
He discussed that although his returning players have had roles at vocal leaders, they have welcomed the experience of his transfer players to bring different perspectives to this season.
“We want to be a place that continues to be transfer friendly," Hosler said. "That they know they can come in and have a leadership role, they can come in and make an impact right away. And you want to lean on their past experiences, too.”
Hosler was also asked about being "chased" as one of the top teams in the conference and in the nation. He mentioned that the team hasn't focused on that too much, but knows the Spartans will "get everyone's best shot." Hosler wants MSU to control what it can control so that the rest will take care of itself.
Hosler is happy that MSU is currently in the position that it is in, but wants his team's focus to be one day at a time.
"We want to be in a place where people are chasing us," Hosler said. "That means our program is running pretty well. We're getting results the way that we'd like to.
“When I took this job I wanted to be in this situation where Michigan State women’s soccer wasn’t just relevant, but a program that everyone looks to. That's showing off right now in our recruiting classes ... Michigan State is starting to become a destination women’s program."
Hosler was also asked about his thoughts on Big Ten expansion, with UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon joining the conference in 2024.
While Hosler notes that it will obviously requite more travel and time management for the student-athletes, he is excited about the increased competition.
"For myself, I'm excited," Hosler said about Big Ten expansion. "UCLA and USC, those two of the premier programs. UCLA won the national championship last December. Then you add in Washington that I believe has seven seniors that are in the pros. Oregon, an up-and-coming program again with them. For me, the more competition there is, even better."
With 18 teams, Hosler is curious about the regular-season format, and how many teams will make the Big Ten Tournament, but sees it as a positive overall.
Thursday night's matchup with Cincinnati in the DeMartin Soccer Complex can be watched on Big Ten Plus.
