No. 4 Spartans Blast No. 16 OSU on Alumni Day

Oct. 1, 2017

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 4 Michigan State men's soccer had an offensive explosion stopping No. 16 Ohio State, 5-1, on Alumni Day at DeMartin Stadium Sunday.

MSU 5, OSU 1

MSU celebrated the induction of former head coach Joe Baum's induction into the Michigan State Hall of Fame at halftime along with other Spartan alumni.

The five goals were the most scored by the Spartans since defeating Washington, 5-0, in 2010. MSU improves to 8-1-1 overall and 3-0-1 in Big Ten action. The Spartans handed the Buckeyes their first B1G loss of the season as OSU fell to 7-2-1 overall and 3-1-0 in league play.

"It was a good feeling. Every game this year has been a nail biter to the end, and I got to relax a little bit for 10 minutes or so. Honestly, I like the way the guys played today. They created some chances, and I'm happy for Ryan too. He works hard, and things weren't falling his way. But he stays positive, and things happened," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said.

The Spartans wasted no time getting on the board netting the first goal in the 14th minute. The play started with a pass from senior midfielder Ken Krolicki who found junior forward Ryan Sierakowski. The ball eventually found junior midfielder Connor Corrigan's head to give the Spartans the 1-0 lead.

Before the end of the half, the Buckeyes scored the equalizer in the 40th minute when Alex Nichols scored his first goal of the season.

MSU didn't want to go into the half tied and took the 2-1 lead less than two minutes later. Sierakowski scored the eventual game-winning goal off the rebound of his own shot in the 41st minute.

"We knew that we had to put a couple in the back of the net. One goal is not enough, and we kept our foot on the gas and kept going. We want to continue to defend DeMartin. It's a fortress. We keep it going, and we know our back line is solid. We know our forward line will get the goals too," Sierakowski said.

Michigan State scored a season-high three goals in the second half, starting with Sierakowski's second goal of the game in the 66th minute. Junior midfielder John Freitag earned his first of two assists on the day, while junior forward DeJuan Jones added an assist on the play. Three minutes later, Jones got in on the action with his team-leading fifth goal of the season to give MSU the 4-1 advantage, scoring off a corner kick.

Sophomore forward Michael Beckett scored his second career goal in the 88th minute to take the 5-1 lead. On the day four different Spartans found the back of the net, while seven MSU players earned at least one assist.

The Spartans now hit the road for three-straight games. MSU will take on No. 9 Western Michigan on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in Kalamazoo at 4:30 p.m. Michigan State will end the week in Big Ten action at Wisconsin on Saturday, Oct. 7 in Madison at 8 p.m. ET.

Spartan Notes
Michigan State once again defended DeMartin, having not lost at home since Nov. 4, 2015. Last season, MSU was 9-0-2 at DeMartin Stadium and this season the Spartans are 4-0-1 at home, standing 13-0-3 in their last 16 home games.

Junior forward DeJuan Jones continues to lead the team in scoring with five goals and two assists for 12 points. Fellow junior forward Ryan Sierakowski is second with three goals and three assists for nine point.

Michigan State head coach Damon Rensing inches closer to the century mark in wins with a 98-59-23 career record.

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Team Stats

Ryan Sierakowski

Connor Corrigan

DeJuan Jones

Michael Beckett

Players Mentioned

Michael Beckett

Connor Corrigan

John Freitag

DeJuan Jones

Ken Krolicki

Ryan Sierakowski