MSU Soccer Concludes Road Trip at Western Michigan Wednesday

Wednesday, October 13

Kalamazoo, Mich.

4 PM

Michigan State University

Western Michigan

MSU Soccer Concludes Road Trip at Western Michigan Wednesday

10/12/2021 2:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer

MSU Notes Live Stats Watch Live

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer concludes its three-game road trip against Western Michigan on Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. This will be the final non-conference game of the season for the Spartans.

Michigan State stands 5-5-2 overall and 1-2-2 in Big Ten contests. The Broncos are 3-4-4 this season after a 1-0 win against Oakland on Oct. 6.

RISING THE RANKS
After a win against No. 22 Rutgers, the Spartans now have the third-toughest strength of schedule in the nation behind defending national champion Marshall and Creighton. Michigan is second in the Big Ten in strength of schedule, standing No. 13. MSU also has the third-best RPI in the league (No. 29), behind Maryland (No. 14) and Penn State (No. 26).

QUITE THE COMBO
Seniors Farai Mutatu and Jack Beck have been quite the scoring combination this season. The six goals scored by Mutatu are the most by a Spartan since Ryan Sierakowski scored eight in 2018. Beck's seven assists are the most by an MSU player since All-American Giuseppe Barone had 10 helpers in 2018.

EFFICIENCY AT ITS BEST
Sophomore midfielder Jack Zugay has been incredibly efficient in his scoring during his two seasons at MSU. His game-winning goal against Rutgers on Oct. 10 was his second career goal. It was also his second game-winning goal as he also netted the game winner against Wisconsin last season.

GETTING IN THE GAME
Five Spartans have started all 12 games this season, including Farai Mutatu, Jack Beck, Michael Miller, Will Perkins and Nick Stone. Perkins and Stone lead the way in minutes played with 1,100 and 1,126, respectively. Twenty-one different Spartans have started at least one game.

THE BEST AROUND
Senior forward Farai Mutatu remains alone in first in the league in goals with six. He added to his goal count with the Spartans first goal of the game against Michigan on Oct. 5. The six goals was the most by a Spartan since Ryan Sierakowski scored eight in 2018.

Senior midfielder Jack Beck continues to have stellar season for the Spartans. With an assist against Michigan on Oct. 5, Beck maintains his hold on first place in the league with seven assists. Six different players are tied for second with four.

As a team, Michigan State is fourth in the conference in points with 53, including 17 goals and 19 assists.

LOOKING AT THE BRONCOS
Overall, Michigan State holds the overall lead in the series 35-2-8, including going 22-1-4 at home. The Spartans had won 14-straight in the series before Western Michigan won, 1-0, in East Lansing in 2019.
This season, WMU stands 3-4-4 overall and 0-1-0 in the MAC. Much like the Spartans, the Western Michigan also tied Wisconsin. On Sept. 2, the Broncos and the Badgers tied, 0-0 in Madison. This season, WMU has wins over Oakland, Dayton and Butler.

The Broncos are led by Dylan Sing who has four goals for eight points this season. Max Keenan (3 goals) and Charlie Sharp (2 goals, 2 assists) are tied for second with six points.

Lukas Von Lienen has played the most minutes in net, playing nine games. He has allowed only seven goals for a GAA of 0.84.

LOCAL KIDS DO GOOD
MSU's win against Notre Dame showcased two players from near East Lansing. Seniors Farai Mutatu (Haslett) and Jack Beck (DeWitt) scored all four goals for MSU with Mutatu scoring three and Beck adding one. Beck also added assists on Mutatu's final two goals.

Mutatu's hat trick was the first by a Spartan since Jay Chapman against No. 16 Indiana on Oct. 28, 2012. Senior midfielder Jack Beck also added a goal and two assists in the win.

LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore midfielder Jack Zugay provided the golden goal in the 107th minute as the Spartan men's soccer team downed No. 22 Rutgers, 2-1, in double overtime at a rainy Yurcak Field on Sunday afternoon.

The game-winning goal began with a beautiful pass by junior forward Gianni Ferri that went behind the Scarlet Knight defenders. Zugay's upper 90 blast was just out of reach of Rutgers' stellar goalkeeper Oren Asher. The goal was just the second career goal for Zugay, both of which were game winners. Zugay also gave MSU the win against Wisconsin last season.

The first half was very balanced, but it was the Spartans that took the first lead of the game. Senior midfielder Louis Sala began the sequence on the left side. He dished the ball to redshirt-junior defender Will Perkins, who's cross bent past a diving Asher and into the goal to put MSU up, 1-0.

FINDING THE BACK OF THE NET
So far this season, 10 different Spartans have found the back of the net. Against Rutgers on Oct. 10, sophomore midfielder Jack Zugay scored his first goal of the season. Senior Farai Mutatu leads the team in scoring with six goals and one assist for nine points. Fellow senior Michael Miller and redshirt-junior Will Perkins are tied for second in goals scored with two.

UP NEXT
After a tough three-game road trip, the Spartans return home for their final two regular-season home games. MSU will host Ohio State for Senior Day on Oct. 17, before taking on No. 12 Maryland on Oct. 22.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
The Spartan have named four captains this season. Leading MSU will be seniors Jack Beck, Michael Miller, Farai Mutatu and Will Perkins.

BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Aug. 31
O: Tommy Mihalic, Fr., IU
D: Oren Asher, Jr., RU

Sept. 7
O: Ben Bender, So., UMD
D: Oren Asher, Jr., RU

Sept. 14
O: Nico Rosamilia, Fr., RU
D: Daniel Munie, Jr., IND

Sept. 21
O: Farai Mutatu, Sr., MSU
D: Keagan McLaughlin, Sr., OSU

Sept. 28
O: Kevin Buca, Sr., MICH
O: Peter Mangione, So., PSU
D: Zach Klancnik, Sr., WIS

Oct. 5
O: Evan Rasmussen, Jr., MICH
D: Oren Asher, Jr., RU

Oct. 12
O: Daniel Bloyou, Sr., PSU
D: Daniel Munie, Jr., IND