A majority of the Bruins’ wins this season have been at the expense of undefeated teams.

And the Spartans are on an undefeated streak of their own.

No. 16 UCLA women’s soccer (4-2-1, 1-0 Big Ten) faces No. 5 Michigan State (5-0-2, 1-0) at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Sunday for the second conference game of the season for both teams. The squads both enter the game on a win streak, with the Bruins vying for their fourth consecutive win and the Spartans looking to maintain their undefeated record.

Michigan State recorded a 5-0 win against USC on Thursday, scoring three goals in the first half. The Spartans entered the season ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten for the first time in program history.

Spartans forward Kennedy Bell and midfielder Kayla Briggs scored the three initial goals, with both of Bell’s occurring within three minutes of each other.

UCLA is coming into the game off a 2-1 victory against a previously undefeated Purdue team. The Bruins scored a goal apiece in each half, limiting the Boilermakers to a single goal in the first frame. Prior to the matchup, Purdue had only conceded two goals all season, before allowing UCLA to score twice in the game’s first 49 minutes.

“The most important part is to get the win and then move on,” said coach Gof Boyoko. “We have a big game Sunday, and then we’re going to get ready, fix things, keep the team healthy and go from there.”

UCLA’s two goals against Purdue came from sophomore midfielder Grace Shank and junior forward Kara Croone, both of whom also scored in the previous game against Pepperdine. Croone scored the Bruins’ game-winners in both matches.

Boyoko said Shank played in the most minutes of any freshman last year, which helped lead to her becoming team captain as a sophomore.

While Boyoko said he’s excited about Shank, he added that he still needs to find the best way to use her in the game.

Shank said it felt good to score the first goal against Purdue and help her team start on an energetic note.

“Our whole plan was to just get the ball at our feet and press right away, so that they’d give the ball back to us, and that’s exactly what happened,” Shank said. “As soon as we got back on the ball, we set the tempo, and we were keeping it, moving it, making it harder for them to defend.”

UCLA faced Michigan State twice last season, but was unable to produce a victory either time. The first road match last September ended in a draw, while the second – a semifinal game of the Big Ten tournament – concluded in sudden-death overtime, when Michigan State scored the golden goal four minutes into extra time for a 2-1 victory.

Croone said the team is honing in on high-pressure gameplay to force opponents to make decisions quicker than they want to, helping the Bruins to maintain possession.

“For us, the heat definitely is a huge factor, and we try to make the other team run as much as possible just with little passes,” Croone said. “That way, the same way we’re getting tired, they’re also getting tired. But for me, I’m from Georgia. It’s pretty humid out there, so this is fine.”

Because the Bruins were knocked out of the Big Ten tournament by the Spartans last year, Shank said starting with a win against them is extremely important in setting the tone for the season.

Croone added that the team will focus on the details from the Purdue game they might have missed to help put their best foot forward against Michigan State on Sunday.

“Every game for me is just a chance to fight,” Croone said. “But since they did knock us out, there’s obviously an extra layer of wanting to get that back. But regardless, we’re just gonna focus on ourselves.”