Spartan Soccer Hosts No. 25 Maryland Friday on Breast Cancer Awareness Day

Friday, October 11

East Lansing, Mich.

6:30 PM ET

Michigan State University

Maryland

Spartan Soccer Hosts No. 25 Maryland Friday on Breast Cancer Awareness Day

10/10/2019 4:42:00 PM | Men's Soccer

MSU Notes UMD Notes Watch Live Live Stats

Fans wearing pink get in free.

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer returns home to face No. 25 Maryland on Friday, Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Dean Linke and Chris Doran on the call. The Spartans are looking for back-to-back wins after a dramatic overtime 2-1 win against Wisconsin on Oct. 6 in Madison.

Michigan State improves to 2-6-2 overall and 2-1-0 in Big Ten action after the win against the Badgers. Maryland is 6-3-1 overall and 1-0-1 in league contests and have won two-straight games. The Terps are the fourth ranked team that MSU has faced this season along with No. 13 Washington, No. 20 Notre Dame and No. 22 Rutgers. The Spartans are 1-2 against ranked teams this season.

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

ROAD WARRIORS
After playing four home games and only two road games in September, the Spartans will see a big difference in October. Michigan State has only two games remaining in East Lansing this month against Maryland on Oct. 11 and Ohio State on Oct. 19. The Spartans have four road games remaining in October, including two in Big Ten action.

This season, Michigan State has been strong on the road, as MSU is 2-1 on the road with a wins against No. 22 Rutgers (Sept. 27) and Wisconsin (Oct. 6). The Spartans have scored five goals on the road this year.

DID YOU KNOW?
Michigan State's eight goals have been scored by six different players, including first-time goal scorers Gianni Ferri, Olu Ogunwale, Alex Shterenberg and Alaa Algahim. Michael Miller and Sterenberg are the only two Spartans with two goals.

MILLER TIME
Junior midfielder Michael Miller showed a flair for the dramatic in the Spartans' 2-1 overtime win over Wisconsin on Oct. 6. Miller's second goal of the season came off of a corner kick that he bent over the head of Badger goalkeeper Dean Cowdroy in the 94th minute in overtime for MSU's second win of the season. MSU has now won two of its last three games.

HOME COOKING
The Spartans are looking to get back on track at DeMartin Stadium. Michigan State is 0-5-2 at home this season. MSU is 0-1-2 in overtime games at home this year.

CLOSE CALLS
Michigan State has already played four overtime games in its first 10 outings. Last season, the Spartans played four overtime games all season, going 0-0-4 in those games. This year, MSU is 1-1-2 in extra time.

Five of the Spartans' six of defeats have been by one goal. The Spartans have lost three games 1-0, including two to ranked teams in No. 13 Washington and No. 20 Notre Dame.

THE FUTURE IS NOW
As Michigan State fights through some early-season injuries, several young Spartans have seen playing time. Through nine games, six true freshmen have played with Alaa Algahim, Conner George, Colton Stanley, Nick Stone and Gianni Ferri all getting starts. Overall, 15 underclassmen have played this season for MSU.

SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
The Maryland Terrapins come to East Lansing to face the Spartans at DeMartin Stadium. The defending national champions have an overall record of 6-3-1 and a conference record of 1-1-1. The Terps are on a two-game winning streak, with their last win coming from a 2-0 victory over No. 14 Cal State Fullerton. In conference action, Maryland lost to Northwestern 3-1, tied Wisconsin 0-0 and beat Rutgers 3-1.

The Terrapins are back in the top-25 rankings of the United Soccer Coaches' Poll at No. 25 after their past two victories. Their squad is lead by juniors Ben Di Rosa (1g, 0a) and Eric Matzelevich (3g, 0a). Di Rosa was recently awarded Big Ten Player of the Week for his crucial help in securing a win over Villanova. Both players have started every single game for the Terps and have combined for four of the teams' nine total assists.

Goalkeepers Niklas Neumann (20 saves) and Russell Shealy (7 saves) have been splitting time in goal with Neumann playing 581 minutes and Shealy playing 356.

LOOKING AT THE SERIES
MSU leads the series 6-4-4. Last season, the Spartans and Terrapins played twice. The first matchup was a regular season game that the Spartans won 2-0 with goals from Farai Mutatu and Patrick Nielsen in the 14th and 80th minutes, respectively. The next game had high stakes as it was in the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans fell 1-0 with the lone goal coming from Eric Matzelevich in overtime. The Terrapins went on to win the College Cup in a national championship victory over Akron.

GETTING IN THE GAME
Due to several injuries, 20 of the 26 players currently on the roster have seen action through nine games this season. Only five Spartans have started every games in Michael Miller, Farai Mutatu, Michael Pimlott, Nick Woodruff and Hunter Morse. Alex Shterenberg, Cody Sweatte, Jack Beck, Nick Stone and Olu Ogunwale have played in all 10 games.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Morse is among the leaders in several categories in the Big Ten. He is first in the saves with 49, just ahead of Wisconsin's Dean Cowdroy, who has 45 saves. Morse is also fourth in the league in goals against average (1.14). Morse also is second in save percentage (.803).

Forward Farai Mutatu is second in the conference in shots with 32, averaging 3.44 spg.

WELCOME BACK
Redshirt-junior defender Patrick Nielsen made his first appearance of the 2019 season against Rutgers. Nielsen who has been battling injury played nine minutes at the end of the game against the Scarlet Knights. He made his first start of the season against Wisconsin on Oct. 6

NO RELATION
Despite the exact same spelling freshman midfielder Conner George is no relation on senior guard from the MSU men's basketball team (George's mother, Cathy, is also the MSU volleyball coach). George the freshman forward hails from Louisville, Kentucky.

TURNING PRO
Three former Michigan State men's soccer players were drafted on the first day of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Chicago on Jan. 11, 2019. Senior forward DeJuan Jones led the way as the 11th overall pick, drafted by the New England Revolution.

For the first time ever, the Spartans had two players drafted in the first round as fellow senior forward Ryan Sierakowski was drafted 23rd overall by the Portland Timbers. Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Hague was the sixth pick of the second round (30th overall), taken by FC Cincinnati. Hague will see a familiar face when he arrives in Cincinnati with former Spartan great Fatai Alashe on the roster.

In 2018, Ken Krolicki was the first Spartan drafted since defender Zach Carroll in 2016 when he was chosen as the 53rd overall pick, chosen as the seventh player in the third round. In 2014, three Spartans signed to play for MLS with Fatai Alashe being chosen fourth overall, the highest ever for MSU. Jay Chapman a signed a homegrown contract with Toronto FC, while Adam Montague was taken in the third round by the Vancouver Whitecaps.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
This season, Michigan State will have three captains in seniors Giuseppe Barone, Michael Pimlott and redshirt-junior Patrick Nielsen.

MICHIGAN STATE REWIND
The Spartans finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 14-5-4 and a 4-2-2 Big Ten record earning a trip to the NCAA College Cup for the first time since 1968.

UP NEXT
After taking on No. 25 Maryland on Friday, Oct. 11, Michigan State will hit the road to take on Akron on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. The last time that the teams met was in the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup with the Zips winning 5-1.