Spartan Men's Soccer Celebrates Senior Day Against Northwestern Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer concludes the regular season hosting Northwestern on Senior Day on Sunday, Oct. 30 at DeMartin Stadium. Kickoff time is set for 1 p.m. The game is the first half of a doubleheader with the MSU women's team who will host Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament at 4 p.m.

Owen Oszust and Michael Markoch will be on the call for BTN StudentU.

The Spartans are 6-7-2 overall this season and 3-3-1 in Big Ten action, heading in to the last game of the regular season. Northwestern stands 2-8-5 this season and 0-5-2 in B1G play. After the game, the Spartans will say goodbye to seven MSU seniors in Alaa Algahim, Gianni Ferri, Owen Finnerty, Conner George, Kellan Landefeld, Andrew Nicholsen and Nick Stone.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NORTHWESTERN
Michigan State holds a 33-9-5 overall record against Northwestern, including a 17-2-2 mark at DeMartin Stadium. The Spartans are 3-2-1 against the Wildcats in the last six meetings.

Last season on the final day of the regular season, Northwestern earned a 3-1 win over MSU in Evanston on Oct. 31. Senior Farai Mutatu provided the offense for the Spartans in the loss. The last time the teams met in East Lansing, MSU came away with a 2-0 win in 2021.

LOOKING AT THE WILDCATS
Northwestern is 2-8-5 overall and 0-5-2 in the Big Ten this season. The Spartans and the Wildcats have two common non-conference opponents. MSU defeated Chicago State 4-4, while NU tied the Cougars 3-3. Both teams have losses to Western Michigan.

Ethan Dudley leads the team in scoring with three goals and two assists for eight points. Jason Gajadhar and Justin Weiss are tied for second in scoring with three goals and one assists for seven points each.

DECISION DAY
A home game in the Big Ten Tournament is on the line for the Spartans on Sunday. A Michigan State win and a loss by Indiana against Maryland would five MSU a home game in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. Maryland controls its destiny to a Big Ten title with 15 points. Ohio State and Rutgers are tied for second with 14 points and are guaranteed home games in the tournament as well. Northwestern is playing for a shot in the tournament as only the top eight teams advance to the Big Ten Tournament.

DID YOU KNOW?
Current assistant coach Joe Ahearn spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Northwestern.

DID YOU ALSO KNOW?
This is the first time that the Spartans have had three players in double-figures in scoring since 2018. This season, Greyson Mercer, Will Perkins and Jonathan Stout are all tied for first on the team in scoring with 10 points. In 2018, Ryan Sierakowski (21), Giuseppe Barone (16) and DeJuan Jones (15) all reached double figures in points scored.

NEW LOOK SPARTANS
Michigan State's rookies have had solid campaigns. Transfers Elijah Howe and Owen Finnerty have been solid fixtures in the Spartan offense starting 14 and 15 games, respectively.

Freshmen Jack Guggemos, Jake Spadafora and Jeremy Sharp have all started at least five games this season. Freshman Jonathan Stout has come on strong of late with three goal and four assists for a total of 10 points. Stout scored a goal against Michigan on Sept. 27 and scored two goals against Rutgers on Oct. 16. Guggemos is fifth on the team in scoring with three goals and one assist for seven points.

FANTASTIC FRESHIES
Top Drawer Soccer announced its Freshman Top 100 list last week. Michigan State freshmen Jake Spadafora and Jonathan Stout both made appearances on the list. Spadafora was ranked No. 37, while Stout was listed No. 82.

BEST OF THE BEST
Michigan State head coach Damon Rensing is fifth in the Big Ten in overall winning percentage among B1G coaches (ranked by overall winning percentage at Big Ten schools). Rensing currently holds a 136-100-37 record at MSU (.566).

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Eleven different players have scored MSU's 22 goals this season. Junior forward Greyson Mercer, senior defender Will Perkins and freshman Jonathan Stout are all tied for the team lead in scoring with 10 points. Senior midfielder Louis Sala is fourth with one goal and six assists for eight points, while freshman midfielder Jack Guggemos is now fifth in scoring with three goals and an assist for seven points.

RISING THE CHARTS
Senior midfielder Louis Sala stands tied for fourth in the league in assists with six. He is one helper away from tying senior midfielder Jack Beck's team high of seven assists last season. Freshman forward Jonathan Stout is now eighth in the Big Ten in points per game with 1.00. He has three goals and four assists for 11 points in nine games. Michigan State's six assists against Rutgers on Oct. 16 are tied for the third most in the Big Ten this season.

LOGGING IN THE MINUTES
There are five Spartans who have surpassed 1,000 minutes this season, including senior goalkeeper Owen Finnerty (1,336) and sophomore defender Josh Adam (1,324). Senior Jack Beck (1,252), junior midfielder Jack Zugay (1,211) and senior defender Elijah Howe (1,174) have also passed the 1,000 minute mark.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
Freshman forward Jonathan Stout entered the against Rutgers on Oct. 16 with one goal and two assists on the season, and doubled that total with two goals and two helpers on the day. Stout is now tied for first in points with junior forward Greyson Mercer and senior defender Will Perkins with 10 each.

LOOKING IN THE REAR VIEW
Despite a furious second-half comeback, Michigan State men's soccer fell to No. 13 Ohio State, 2-1, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night. After falling behind 2-0 early in the second half, senior forward Conner George helped the Spartans trim the lead with his first goal of the season.

FINNERTY EARNS B1G HONOR
Senior goalkeeper Owen Finnerty earned the Spartans' first Player of the Week honor of the season after MSU went 2-0-0 on Oct. 3. The goalkeeper registered a pair of clean sheets to lead Michigan State to wins over Michigan and Wisconsin.

In the Battle of the Big Bear Trophy on Sept. 27, Finnerty, a Michigan transfer, earned MSU's first shutout of the season with a 2-0 win over the Wolverines. He helped MSU to back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since the 2017 season.

PACKING THE HOUSE
Michigan State historically is among the nation's best in packing DeMartin Stadium. This week, MSU is fifth in the nation in attendance, averaging 2,305 fans per game. The Spartans are second in the Big Ten behind Indiana (2,318), who stand fourth in the nation respectively. Maryland is sixth in the country and third in the B1G (2,176).MSU's largest crowd of the season was the 3,047 fans that packed DeMartin to watch MSU beat Michigan on Sept. 27.

PITCHING THE SHUTOUT
With a 2-0 win over Michigan on Sept. 27, Michigan State earned its first shutout of the season. MSU has allowed one goal to Army, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Chicago State and Indiana. Before the win against the Wolverines, the Spartans last shutout was a 1-0 win against Ohio State on Oct. 17, 2021 in East Lansing. MSU goalkeeper Owen Finnerty recorded his first shutout as a Spartan and his 10th for his career. MSU followed that up with a 1-0 shutout victory over Wisconsin on Oct. 2. The Spartans recorded their first back-to-back shutout wins since 2017.

OLDTIMERS
Michigan State brings back several veterans to the 2022 squad. Both Jack Beck and Will Perkins will return for their fifth seasons with MSU. The duo of captains are the final to Spartans on the roster who were a part of the 2018 College Cup squad.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
The Spartan have named three captains this season. Leading MSU will be seniors Jack Beck, Will Perkins and Louis Sala. This is the second-straight season that Beck and Perkins are captains.

Spartan Men's Soccer Celebrates Senior Day Against Northwestern Sunday

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