MSU Men's Soccer Opens B1G Tournament at OSU Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 6-seeded Michigan State men's soccer team will take on No. 3-seeded and No. 18-ranked Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Soccer Tournament on Friday, Nov. 4. Kickoff time is set for 7 p.m. This is the Spartans' second trip to Columbus. On Oct. 25, Michigan State fell to the Buckeyes, 2-1.

The Spartans are looking to snap a three-game losing streak, falling to then-No. 8 Maryland, Ohio State and Northwestern. MSU is 6-8-2 overall this season and ended the regular season with a 3-4-1 mark in Big Ten action. Ohio State is 9-2-5 overall and 4-2-2 in league play.

B1G TOURNEY NOTES
This is the first time that the Spartans and the Buckeyes have met in the Big Ten Tournament since OSU earned a 2-1 win in East Lansing in 2017. Michigan State is looking to snap a five-game Big Ten Tournament losing streak. The Spartans' last Big Ten Tournament win came at home against Penn State, 2-1, in 2016.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST OHIO STATE
Overall, Michigan State holds a 29-24-3 overall series lead over Ohio State, including winning the two of the last three, four of the last six and six of the last nine meetings over the Buckeyes. MSU is 8-12-1 vs. OSU in matches played in Columbus, but the Spartans have returned home victorious from three of their last four trips there. OSU won this season's earlier meeting, 2-1 on Oct. 25. Michigan State won, 1-0, in 2016; 2-1 in 2018 and 1-0 during the atypical COVID 19 spring of 2021 season.

If history has anything to say about Friday's final score, it's likely to be a tight match between the Spartans and Buckeyes, as all three of the wins by MSU during the last six seasons have all been one-goal games. Furthermore, the last eight matches in Columbus have all been decided by one goal. Overall, five of the last seven and 14 of the last 19 meetings all-time since 2008 have been one-goal contests.

LOOKING AT THE BUCKEYES
After a loss to Wisconsin in their regular-season finale, the Buckeyes earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. No. 18 Ohio State if fourth in the Big Ten in points scored with 96, just head of MSU with 81.

Anthony Samways is tied for sixth in the Big Ten with six assists this season. Marko Borkovic is fifth in the league in shooting percentage with 2.38 per game. Keagan McLaughlin is first in the league in goals against average (1.00). He has four shutouts in 12 games this season .

DID YOU KNOW?
Freshman Jonathan Stout's 14 points are the most by a MSU rookie since Ryan Sierakowski's 17 in 2015.

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, Jonathan Stout is first in scoring with 12 points. Greyson Mercer and Will Perkins and are both tied for second 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 15 and 16 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 a team-leading four goal and four assists for a total of 12 points. Stout scored a goal against Michigan on Sept. 27 and scored two goals against Rutgers on Oct. 16. He added a goal in the regular-season finale against Northwestern on Oct. 30. 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 136-102-37 record at MSU (.562).

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Eleven different players have scored MSU's 23 goals this season. Freshman Jonathan Stout ended the regular season leading the team in scoring with four goals and four assists for 12 points. Junior forward Greyson Mercer and senior defender Will Perkins and are both tied for the second in scoring with 10 points. Senior midfielder Louis Sala is fourth with one goal and seven assists for nine points, while freshman midfielder Jack Guggemos is now fifth in scoring with three goals and an assist for seven points.

RISING THE CHARTS
With an assist on Jonathan Stout's goal against Northwestern on Oct. 30, senior midfielder Louis Sala stands tied for second in the league in assists with seven. He tied senior midfielder Jack Beck's team high of seven assists last season. Freshman forward Jonathan Stout is now ninth in the Big Ten in points per game with 1.09. He has four goals and four assists for 12 points in 11 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 six Spartans who have surpassed 1,000 minutes this season, including senior goalkeeper Owen Finnerty (1,426) and sophomore defender Josh Adam (1,414). Senior Jack Beck (1,342), junior midfielder Jack Zugay (1,291) and senior defender Elijah Howe (1,261) have also passed the 1,000 minute mark. Freshman defender Tyler Crawford has played 1,061 minutes.

WHAT A CAREER
Senior midfielder Jack Beck is looking to break the MSU record for games played. He is currently second behind Fatai Alashe who played 86 games from 2011-14. Beck has played 84 career games, starting 66, including every game the last two seasons. For his career he has scored eight goals with 11 assists for 27 points.

LOOKING IN THE REAR VIEW
Despite and early goal, the Michigan State men's soccer team fell to Northwestern, 2-1, on Senior Day on Sunday.

The Spartans struck first in the 10th minute. Senior midfielder Louis Sala began the play with a beautiful ball that found the head of freshman forward Jonathan Stout. The goal was the fourth of the season for the Michigan State rookie.

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 third in the nation in attendance, averaging 2,271 fans per game. The Spartans are first in the Big Ten ahead of Indiana (2,122) and Maryland (2,061), who stand fifth and sixth in the nation respectively. 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.

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