No. 16 Spartan Soccer Hosts No. 13 Washington Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 16 Michigan State men's soccer continues its four-game homestand, hosting No. 13 Washington on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. The Spartans conclude the homestand on Sunday against Cornell at 3 p.m. in a doubleheader with the MSU women's team. Prior to the game against the Huskies, the 2018 College Cup team will be honored.

Michigan State opened the 2019 season with a 0-0 tie against SIUE (Aug. 30) and a 1-1 draw against Florida Gulf Coast (Sept. 2).

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

CLOSE CALLS
The Spartans have had two tight battles to start the season. With a pair of ties to start the season, Michigan State has begun the year with two ties for the first time since 1957. In that season, the Spartans tied Michigan (3-3) and Chicago Navy Pier (1-1).

SOLID IN THE NET
Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Morse has been solid in net in his first two starts as a sophomore. Morse captured a shutout in the first game of the season with 0-0 tie against SIUE. In two games, Morse has a 0.41 goals against average and a .833 save percentage.

GETTING ON THE SCOREBOARD
Redshirt-sophomore forward Alex Shterenberg scored his first career goal against Florida Gulf Coast on Sept. 2. Shterenberg scored the Spartans first goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 89th minute as the equalizer sending the game into overtime.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON
This will be the second meeting between the Spartans and the Huskies. The only other meeting came in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2014 NCAA Tournament in East Lansing. The game was tied 2-2, but the Spartans advanced 4-3 on penalty kicks.

The Huskies are off to a hot start with a pair of wins on the opening weekend. Washington defeated No. 18 Denver, 2-1, before stopping San Francisco, 4-0. Both games were played in Seattle. Blake Bodily and Gio Miglietti lead the team in scoring with two goals and one assists for five points apiece. The Huskies have used two goalkeepers this season with Logan Bryce playing against DU and Sam Fowler seeing action against USF.

SCOUTING CORNELL
Cornell was picked to finish third in the Ivy League behind Princeton and Dartmouth, respectively. Last season, the Big Red finished with an overall record of 11-6 and were 4-3 in Ivy League play.

This is the first meeting between Cornell and Michigan State.

RENSING SAYS
"We have a lot of new faces out there and are battling some injuries, but we are looking forward to a really good match against Washington. They are nationally ranked and have been in the NCAA Tournament. Before that game we will be doing a banner raising for last year's College Cup team. Hopefully then we can just focus on this 2019 team," Rensing said.

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.

Last season, 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 NOTES
• No. 7 Michigan State men's soccer team was voted fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll, as voted on by the B1G coaches on Tuesday. Seniors Giuseppe Barone, Michael Pimlott and redshirt-junior Patrick Nielsen were also named to the Big Ten Preseason honors list.

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.

Indiana was picked first in the league after advancing to the NCAA College Cup championship last season. Defending NCAA champion Maryland was voted to finish second in the Big Ten with ranked Michigan picked to finish third The Spartans were picked fourth after being voted second last season. MSU was one of three teams in the Big Ten to reach the College Cup in 2018.

• Seniors Giuseppe Barone, Michael Pimlott and redshirt-junior Patrick Nielsen were also named to the Big Ten Preseason honors list.

TOPDRAWER PRESEASON HONORS
Two Spartans were named to the Preseason Top 100 Players Rankings by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Senior Giuseppe Barone (6) and redshirt-junior defender Patrick Nielsen were both honored.

UP NEXT
MSU will host Cornell on Sunday, Sept. 8 as part of a doubleheader with the Spartan women's soccer team. Next week, Michigan State will then hit the road for the first time taking on Dartmouth on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Giuseppe Barone

Jimmy Hague

DeJuan Jones

Ken Krolicki

Hunter Morse

Patrick Nielsen

Michael Pimlott

Alex Shterenberg

Ryan Sierakowski