No. 13 MSU Soccer Hosts Northwestern on Senior Night Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 13 Michigan State returns to action on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. against Northwestern. The Spartans have had a week off after defeating Ohio State on the road, 2-1, on Oct. 12. Prior to the game, Michigan State will honor its 10 seniors, who reached the Elite Eight last season.

Overall, Michigan State is 10-2-2 overall and 4-1-0 in league play. Northwestern is 4-7-4 this season and 0-4-2 in Big Ten action.

If available, live video and live stats links will be at www.msuspartans.com.

SENIOR CELEBRATION
The Spartans have 10 seniors who will play their final regular-season home game against Michigan on Oct. 23. Hunter Barone, Connor Corrigan, Robbie Cort, John Freitag, Jimmy Hague, DeJuan Jones, Zach Kovan, Luke Menne, Ryan Sierakowski and Cody Sweatte will be honored. Sierakowski is the first Spartan to lead the team in scoring in at least three seasons, while Hague is second in career shutout with 24.

DID YOU KNOW?
Senior forward DeJuan Jones was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. He and Michigan's Robbie Mertz are the only two members from Big Ten schools to be named finalists. Last season, Jimmy Fiscus was also named a finalist.

SECOND-HALF SURGE
Michigan State has been a second-half scoring machine this season. The Spartans have scored six goals in the first half and 21 in the second. Last season, MSU netted 11 in the first and 16 in the final period of regulation.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
The Northwestern Wildcats hold a 4-7-4 overall record and are 0-4-2 in the Big Ten conference. The Wildcats recently came off a tough back-to-back-to-back series against No. 2 Indiana, No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 19 Michigan. After a pair of ties, the Wildcats have back-to-back losses at Rutgers and Illinois Chicago in their last two games.

The Wildcats are led by sophomore goalkeeper Miha Miskovic who has seven shutouts already this season. Miskovic tied his season high of six saves, on 12 shots, in the loss against Michigan. He has also been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice in the 2018-19 season.

The Spartans are currently 14-2-1 against the Wildcats at home. In the 2018 season, the Wildcats fell to the Spartans at home, 2-0. Northwestern last beat Michigan State in 2015 at home, 1-0. In that game, Ryan Sierakowski and Michael Pimlott scored for MSU.

TIME WINDING DOWN
Michigan State has now completed non-conference play and has only three regular-season contests remaining. MSU is currently alone in second place with three games left. The Spartans have nine points, while Indiana is first with 15 points. Michigan is third with 10 points. MSU has two home games left and one on the road. Michigan State hosts Northwestern on Senior Night (Oct. 19) and Michigan on BTN (Oct. 23). The Spartans will travel to Indiana (Oct. 28).

FAST START SPARTANS
For the second-straight season, the Spartans are undefeated through the first eight games. In 2017, MSU was 7-0-1 through the first eight games before falling to Akron on Sept. 27. After defeating Penn State on Sept. 26, Michigan State tied for its best start since the 1974 team started the season 8-0-2. MSU suffered its first loss of the season against Wisconsin on Sept. 30.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Hague now has 24 career clean sheets in the Spartan Green and White, which now puts alone in second in the Spartan record books, passing Avery Steinlage (2008-10) and John Spink (1984, 86-88). MSU great Zach Bennett (2012-15) is the all-time shutout leader with 35.

MAKING AN IMPACT
This season, the Spartans have had five Spartans earn their first point this season. Freshman forward Farai Mutatu is fourth in scoring with three goals and two assists for eight points. Sophomore Patrick Nielsen had two goals this season. Freshman Jack Beck and redshirt-freshman Nick Woodruff also scored their first goals of their collegiate careers in 2018. Junior Michael Wetungu also captured his first Spartan goal against Akron on Oct. 9.

RPI TIME
The Spartans currently have the 28th-best RPI in the nation. Indiana holds the top spot, while another MSU opponent, Notre Dame, is fifth. Maryland is the next-highest Big Ten team holding the No. 33 spot.

DID YOU KNOW
The Sept. 26 win against Penn State was head coach Damon Rensing's 200th career game at MSU. He has a record of 112-63-28 in his 10th season at Michigan State.

RYAN'S RISE
MSU senior forward Ryan Sierakowski is rising up the Michigan State all-time scoring charts. He currently has 75 points in 69 games in a MSU uniform, which is good for 13th all-time. He has 30 goals and 15 assists in four seasons. His 30 goals place him tied for eighth with Zdravko Rom (1973-76). He is two points away from tying Rubens Filizola for 10th (1960-62) with 77 points.

DEFEND DEMARTIN
Michigan State has been solid at home over the last few years. The Spartans were 9-0-2 at home in 2016 and 7-1-2 last season. MSU's only loss came during the Big Ten Tournament last season. In 2018, the Spartans are 5-2-1 at home. Michigan State is 18-2-4 during the regular season in the last three years.

THE SPARTANS VS. THE NCAA
This week in the NCAA statistics, Michigan State is 26th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 1.93 goals per game. Saint Mary's is first in the nation in scoring with 3.15 gpg. The Spartans are 22nd in the nation and third in the Big Ten in total goals with 27. This season, MSU has scored 27 goals off of 33 assists. Michigan State is also ninth in the nation in assists with 28.

Junior midfielder Giuseppe Barone is eighth in the nation in total assists with eight in 14 games. On the defensive side of the ball, senior goalkeeper Jimmy Hague is 11th in the country in shutouts with 6.0.

SUPER SIERAKOWSKI
Senior forward Ryan Sierakowski is looking to become the first Spartan to lead the team in points for four-straight seasons. Sierakowski had 17 point as a freshman, 23 as a sophomore and 21 as a junior. He currently leads the team in scoring with five goals and four assists for 14 points.

LAST TIME OUT
With 19 seconds left in regulation, junior defender Michael Wetungu's header guides No. 8 Michigan State men's soccer past Ohio State, 2-1, on Friday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

The Spartans spoiled the Buckeyes' Senior Night with a pair of second-half goals. With the win, the Spartans improve to 10-2-2 overall and 4-1-0 in Big Ten play. MSU is now 5-0-1 on the road this season and 3-0-0 in road conference battles. Ohio State is now 1-10-2 and 0-4-1 in league contests.

For the sixth time this season, the Spartans went into the locker room scoreless,despite out-shooting OSU 7-1 in the first 45 minutes. Michigan State is now 4-1-1 when neither team scores in the first half.

Trying to avoid their fourth overtime game of the season, MSU used the remaining seconds left looking to find the back of the net. MSU took three shots in the final two minutes, scoring on the final shot. Wetungu took the rebound from his own shot to head the ball past OSU's Parker Siegfried for the game winner. The junior now has two goals in his last two games.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is second in the Big Ten in points scored with 87, averaging 6.46 points per game. Indiana is first with 100 for 7.14 ppg. Senior forwards DeJuan Jones and Ryan Sierakowski are tied for fourth in goals with five. Senior forward Hunter Barone, freshman forward Farai Mutatu and Sierakowski are tied for second in the league in game-winning goals, behind Indiana's Andrew Gutman who has four. Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Hague is tied for second in shutouts with six. He is also first in save percentage (.804). Hague is second in goals against average (0.70) behind Indiana's Trey Muse (0.66). Junior midfielder Giuseppe Barone is second in the league in assists with eight in the first 14 games.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
This season, Michigan State will have three captains in seniors Connor Corrigan, Jimmy Hague and DeJuan Jones.

KING OF THE NORTH
This week, Indiana remains first in the North regional rankings. Michigan State is second, while Wright State stands third. Michigan is fourth in the region, while SIUE remains fifth this week.

BARONE BUNCH
Junior Giuseppe Barone became the fourth member of the Barone family to don the Green and White last season. He joins current Spartan Hunter as well as former MSU players Mark (2008-11) Domenic (2008-12).

UP NEXT
MSU will play its final two regular-season home game against Northwestern (Oct. 19) and Michigan (Oct. 23).

No. 13 MSU Soccer Hosts Northwestern on Senior Night Friday

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Players Mentioned

Giuseppe Barone

Hunter Barone

Jack Beck

Connor Corrigan

Robbie Cort

Jimmy Fiscus

John Freitag

Jimmy Hague

DeJuan Jones

Zach Kovan

Luke Menne

Farai Mutatu

Patrick Nielsen

Michael Pimlott

Ryan Sierakowski

Cody Sweatte

Michael Wetungu

Nick Woodruff