Michigan State University Athletics
Friday, February 19
East Lansing, Mich.
1 PM
Michigan State University
vs
Rutgers
MSU Soccer Has Three Earn Preseason Honors Ahead of Season Opener
2/18/2021 4:51:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Spartan men’s soccer picked fifth in B1G preseason poll.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Ahead of its highly-anticipated season opener, the Michigan State men's soccer team had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list on Thursday. The Spartans will open the season on Friday, Feb. 19 against Rutgers at Schoolcraft College at 1 p.m.
Senior midfielder Michael Miller, junior midfielder Jack Beck and junior forward Farai Mutatu were all named Big Ten Players to Watch. During the 2018 season, both Beck and Mutatu were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Last season, Miller was first on the team in scoring with two goals and three assists for seven points, while playing all 18 games. Mutatu was second in scoring with two goals and two assists for six points. Miller and Mutatu were also two of only seven Spartans to play in every game in 2019. Beck was one of the anchors of the midfield, playing in 17 games.
"I think the guys are really excited. It has been close to 15 or 16 months since their last competitive match. We are just really thankful to have the opportunity to compete. Our doctors and medical staff have been awesome through all of this, along with our even management staff who set us up with Schoolcraft College," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "We are just excited to see where we are at and where we can get better."
Michigan State was selected to finish fifth in this season's preseason Big Ten poll. The Spartans have finished in the top five in the Big Ten standings in seven of the past nine seasons. Following an injury-plagued season, MSU finished 3-12-3 during the 2019 campaign.
The two-time defending Big Ten regular season and tournament champion Indiana was selected first in the 2020-21 Big Ten preseason poll by the conference's nine head coaches. Maryland finished second in this year's preseason poll, while last season's Big Ten runner-up Penn State was chosen third.
This is fourth-straight season that Michigan State has started B1G action against Rutgers, winning three previous openers. Overall, the Spartans are 5-0-1 against the Scarlet Knights. Last season, the MSU offense exploded for a 3-0 win on the road with Gianni Ferri and Olu Ogunwale capturing their first career goals.
Due to current Michigan State University restrictions, no fans will be allowed at Schoolcraft College.
2020-21 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
1. INDIANA
2. Maryland
3. Penn State
4. Michigan
5. Michigan State
6. Northwestern
7. Rutgers
8. Wisconsin
9. Ohio State
Unanimous selection listed in ALL CAPS
2020-21 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Victor Bezerra, So., F, Indiana
Spencer Glass, Sr., D, Indiana
Daniel Munie, So., D, Indiana
Paul Bin, Sr., F, Maryland
Eric Matzelevich, Sr., F, Maryland
Brett St. Martin, Jr., D, Maryland
Umar Farouk Osman, Sr., D/M, Michigan
Jackson Ragen, Sr., D, Michigan
Marc Ybarra, Sr., M, Michigan
Jack Beck, Jr., M, Michigan State
Michael Miller, Sr., M, Michigan State
Farai Mutatu, Jr., F, Michigan State
Ugo Achara Jr., So., F, Northwestern
Rom Brown, Fr., M, Northwestern
Bardia Kimiavi, Jr., M, Northwestern
Matteo Bennati, Sr., M, Ohio State
Devyn Etling, Jr., F, Ohio State
Joshua Jackson-Ketchup, Sr., Ohio State
Liam Butts, So., F, Penn State
Brandon Hackenberg, Sr., D, Penn State
Pierre Reedy, Sr., M, Penn State
Pablo Ávila, Jr., M, Rutgers
Hugo LeGuennec, So., D, Rutgers
Jackson Temple, So., M, Rutgers
Andrew Akindele, Jr., F, Wisconsin
Zach Klancnik, Sr., D, Wisconsin
Sven Kleinhans, Grad., GK, Wisconsin
Senior midfielder Michael Miller, junior midfielder Jack Beck and junior forward Farai Mutatu were all named Big Ten Players to Watch. During the 2018 season, both Beck and Mutatu were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Last season, Miller was first on the team in scoring with two goals and three assists for seven points, while playing all 18 games. Mutatu was second in scoring with two goals and two assists for six points. Miller and Mutatu were also two of only seven Spartans to play in every game in 2019. Beck was one of the anchors of the midfield, playing in 17 games.
"I think the guys are really excited. It has been close to 15 or 16 months since their last competitive match. We are just really thankful to have the opportunity to compete. Our doctors and medical staff have been awesome through all of this, along with our even management staff who set us up with Schoolcraft College," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "We are just excited to see where we are at and where we can get better."
Michigan State was selected to finish fifth in this season's preseason Big Ten poll. The Spartans have finished in the top five in the Big Ten standings in seven of the past nine seasons. Following an injury-plagued season, MSU finished 3-12-3 during the 2019 campaign.
The two-time defending Big Ten regular season and tournament champion Indiana was selected first in the 2020-21 Big Ten preseason poll by the conference's nine head coaches. Maryland finished second in this year's preseason poll, while last season's Big Ten runner-up Penn State was chosen third.
This is fourth-straight season that Michigan State has started B1G action against Rutgers, winning three previous openers. Overall, the Spartans are 5-0-1 against the Scarlet Knights. Last season, the MSU offense exploded for a 3-0 win on the road with Gianni Ferri and Olu Ogunwale capturing their first career goals.
Due to current Michigan State University restrictions, no fans will be allowed at Schoolcraft College.
2020-21 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
1. INDIANA
2. Maryland
3. Penn State
4. Michigan
5. Michigan State
6. Northwestern
7. Rutgers
8. Wisconsin
9. Ohio State
Unanimous selection listed in ALL CAPS
2020-21 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Victor Bezerra, So., F, Indiana
Spencer Glass, Sr., D, Indiana
Daniel Munie, So., D, Indiana
Paul Bin, Sr., F, Maryland
Eric Matzelevich, Sr., F, Maryland
Brett St. Martin, Jr., D, Maryland
Umar Farouk Osman, Sr., D/M, Michigan
Jackson Ragen, Sr., D, Michigan
Marc Ybarra, Sr., M, Michigan
Jack Beck, Jr., M, Michigan State
Michael Miller, Sr., M, Michigan State
Farai Mutatu, Jr., F, Michigan State
Ugo Achara Jr., So., F, Northwestern
Rom Brown, Fr., M, Northwestern
Bardia Kimiavi, Jr., M, Northwestern
Matteo Bennati, Sr., M, Ohio State
Devyn Etling, Jr., F, Ohio State
Joshua Jackson-Ketchup, Sr., Ohio State
Liam Butts, So., F, Penn State
Brandon Hackenberg, Sr., D, Penn State
Pierre Reedy, Sr., M, Penn State
Pablo Ávila, Jr., M, Rutgers
Hugo LeGuennec, So., D, Rutgers
Jackson Temple, So., M, Rutgers
Andrew Akindele, Jr., F, Wisconsin
Zach Klancnik, Sr., D, Wisconsin
Sven Kleinhans, Grad., GK, Wisconsin
Players Mentioned
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