No. 19 MSU Men's Soccer Hosts Maryland on Alumni Day Sunday

Sunday, October 15

East Lansing, Mich.

2 PM

Michigan State University

Maryland

No. 19 MSU Men's Soccer Hosts Maryland on Alumni Day Sunday

10/14/2023 12:22:00 PM | Men's Soccer

2023 Maryland Notes Maryland Notes Watch Live Live Stats Promotional Schedule Flip Card

The Spartans welcome back Alumni from several decades.

Michigan State Maryland

2023 Record	6-0-5, 2-0-3 B1G	3-6-2, 0-4-1 B1G
2022 Record	6-9-2, 3-4-1 B1G	11-4-5, 4-0-4 B1G
Head Coach	Damon Rensing	Sasho Cirovski
Career Record	142-103-42(15th	454-193-72 (33rd)
at Current School	Same	454-193-72 (33rd)

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 19 Michigan State men's soccer returns to the friendly confines of DeMartin Stadium to take on Maryland on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. The Spartans will also be celebrating Alumni Day on Sunday with players from several different decades being honored.

MSU remains unbeaten with a 6-0-5 overall record. Last time out, the Spartans tied Michigan in the Battle for the Big Bear 0-0 in Ann Arbor on Oct. 10. The Spartans currently to 2-0-3 in league action. Maryland is 3-6-2 overall after a win against Villanova on Tuesday and 0-4-1 in B1G games.

Owen Oszust and Marin Klein will be on the call for the BTN Plus.

SEEING THE SUCCESS
Michigan State's men's and women's teams are the only programs in the Big Ten to be ranked in both United Soccer Coaches polls. This week, the men come in at No. 19 in the USC poll, while the women are No. 20.

LOOKING AT THE TERRAPINS
Maryland holds the overall series with Michigan State 6-7-5, while the series is tied 2-2-3 in East Lansing. In College Park, the Terrapins are on top 3-4-1 and the series is tied 1-1-1 on neutral ground.

Maryland has won the last three outings, including a 1-0 win in College Park last year. The Spartans are looking for their first win against the Terps since 2018, when they came out on top 2-0.

Maryland is second in the Big Ten in assists with 17, while standing tied for fourth in goals scored with 13.

Stefan Copetti is tied for fifth in the Big Ten in goals scored with four. Kimani Stewart-Baynes is tied for second in the league in assists with four. The Terps have used two different goalkeepers this season in Mikah Seger and Jamie Lowell.

ONLY SIX REMAIN
Michigan State is one of only six remaining unbeaten teams in the nation, after Big Ten foe Northwestern lost to Penn State on Oct. 13. Marshall is the only perfect team left with an 11-0-0 record. SIU Edwardsville, which is coached by former MSU assistant coach Cale Wasserman is also unbeaten with a 8-0-3 mark.

BREAKING THE TIE
With the Spartans currently holding a 6-0-5 record, they are tied for second all-time in ties. Michigan State had five ties in both 1990 and 2005. The most ties in a season is six by the 2014 team that went 12-5-6, advancing to the Elite Eight.

GETTING IN THE LINEUP
After the game against Michigan on Oct. 10, five different Spartans have started all 11 games this season for Michigan State, including Zac Kelly, Will Eby, Jonathan Stout, Jack Zugay and Jacob Cromer. Eleven Spartans have played in every game this season. Kelly (990 min), Cromer (9953) and Eby (975) led the team in minutes played.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER
Michigan State did not suffer a setback in the month of September. MSU was 4-0-3 in September after going 1-0 in August. Junior midfielder Sean Kerrigan led the way with six points in September off of three goals. He had the game-winning goal in three of MSU's four games.

GETTING IN THE W COLUMN
After finishing last season 6-9-2, the Spartans have already matched last season's win total, standing 6-0-5 this year.

Last season, Michigan State was 0-6-2 on the road. The Spartans are already 3-0-3 away from East Lansing in 2023.

WHERE WE STAND
This week, the Spartans stand No. 18 in the RPI, which is best in the Big Ten.

BACK IN THE POLLS
Michigan State returns to the polls for the first time since Sept. 3, 2019 when the Spartans were ranked No. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Two weeks ago, MSU was up to No. 12 in the TopDrawer Soccer Poll and No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. After a win at Wisconsin last week, MSU is No. 23 in the TDS poll and No. 19 in the USC poll.

BEST OF THE BEST
Michigan State is third in the country in save percentage (.863). Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Zac Kelly is 14th in the nation in goals against average (0.64). Junior midfielder Sean Kerrigan is also among the nation's best, standing third in the nation and first in the Big Ten in game-winning goals with four.

PACKING THE HOUSE
Michigan State historically is among the nation's best in packing DeMartin Stadium. This season, MSU is sixth in the nation in attendance, averaging 2,417 fans per game. The Spartans are third in the Big Ten behind Maryland (2,716) and Indiana (2,531). MSU's largest crowd of the season was the 3,274 fans that packed DeMartin to watch MSU tie Penn State on Oct. 1.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Reigning Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jonathan Stout and Jake Spadafora, who was a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman team are showing no signs of a sophomore slump. Stout scored the game-tying goal against Oakland in the 88th minute on Sept. 26. Overall, he has three goals for six points. Spadafora also has two goals this season, including on against Oakland on Sept. 26.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Michigan State has scored 16 goals this season, and they have been scored by nine different people. Junior midfielder Sean Kerrigan leads the team with four goals scored. Jonathan Stout now has three goals for six points to stand second. Sophomore defender Jeremy Sharp is third in scoring with one goal and three assists for five points. His goal against Wisconsin on Oct. 6 was his first collegiate goal.

DURING THE DAY
Michigan State is still looking for its first win during the day. The Spartans are 0-0-3 during the day so far this season.

UNDER THE LIGHTS
The Spartans have not shied from the bright lights this season. MSU is 6-0-2 so far in night games, including its 0-0 tie against Michigan on Oct. 10.

PLAYING IN FRONT OF THE FOLKS
Junior midfielder Sean Kerrigan has his parents in the stands for a big win against Indiana. The Sligo, Ireland native scored the game-winning goal with a penalty kick against Indiana in front of his parents on Sept. 22.

KEEPING IT CLEAN
Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Zac Kelly now has five shutouts this season, which is the most since Jimmy Hague and the Spartans recorded nine clean sheets in 2018.

Kelly started his first collegiate game against Bowling Green on Aug. 28. He captured his first complete game and clean sheet in MSU's 3-0 win over the Falcons.

He collected his second shutout of the season against Dayton on Sept. 7 and added his third the next game against No. 10 Notre Dame. He earned his first Big Ten shutout against No. 25 Penn State on Oct. 1 and his second against Michigan on Oct. 10.

REGIONAL RANKINGS
After being atop the United Soccer Coaches North Region rankings two weeks ago, Michigan State stands No. 2 this week behind Northwestern.

NOTRE DAME BY THE NUMBERS
The win over Notre Dame on Sept. 12 was MSU's first win over a top-10 since beating No. 8 Notre Dame in South Bend, 1-0, in 2018.

This was the sixth-straight meeting between the Spartans and Fighting Irish that had a one-goal differential. Michigan State has either beaten or tied a Notre Dame squad that was ranked in the top 12 in four of its last five trips to South Bend, going unbeaten in all five, tying No. 5 UND in 2014, before winning over No. 12 UND in 2016, No. 8 UND in 2018 and Tuesday's win over the No. 10 Fighting Irish, with a win over unranked Notre Dame in 2021.

AROUND THE B1G
Michigan State is second in the Big Ten in fewest goals allowed with eight (0.64 gpg) behind Indiana. The Spartans are also fifth in points scored with 42, behind 16 goals and 10 assists.

Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Zac Kelly is second in the Big Ten with a 0.64 goals against average and first with 4.00 saves per game.

Junior midfielder Sean Kerrigan is still first in the league in game-winning goals with four. The four goals also makes him tied for fifth in the league in goals scored. Sophomores Jack Guggemos and Jeremy Sharp are tied for sixth in assists with three each.

LAST TIME OUT
Defense was the name of the game, as No. 19 Michigan State men's soccer battled to a 0-0 draw with Michigan on Oct. 10 at U-M Soccer Stadium. With the tie, the Spartans retain the Big Bear Trophy for another year.

MSU leads the series 13-4-5 since 2000 when the Big Bear Trophy began.

Michigan State held possession early on, earning a corner kick and drawing three Wolverine fouls. Sophomore defender Jeremy Sharp had the first shot for the Spartans in the 19th minute.

In the second half, neither team took control with possession. With less than 20 minutes remaining, the Wolverines tested MSU redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Zac Kelly several times. In the 76th minute Alex Waggoner forced Kelly to make a diving save to keep the game scoreless.

For the game, MSU was out-shot 10-6, while the Wolverines had five corner kicks to four by the Spartans. Kelly made four saves on the night.

PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State men's soccer team had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List, as announced by the conference office.
Senior forward Greyson Mercer along with sophomore forwards Jake Spadafora and Jonathan Stout were all honored by the league.

UP NEXT
On Oct. 20, MSU will take on Northwestern in Evanston. The Wildcats are currently top of the table in the conference tied with Penn State.

THE STAFF
MSU head coach Damon Rensing enters his 15th season at the helm of the Spartans. Assistant coaches T.J. Kolba and Nick Barry also return to the bench in 2023. New to the MSU staff this season is Reid Friedrichs, who enters his first year with Michigan State. Friedrichs has plenty of experience in the Green and White as a player, including Big Ten Player of the Year honors in 1996.