Spartan Men's Soccer Faces Indiana on the Road Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer returns to the road to take on Indiana on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

MSU improved to 5-5-2 overall and 4-2-0 in Big Ten action after a 2-0 win then- No. 25 Wisconsin last week. Indiana stands 6-3-5 overall this season and 4-1-2 in league contests. On Tuesday, the Hoosiers defeated No. 18 Michigan, 5-0.

Ben Haller and Cruz Martin are on the call for B1G+.

BRACING FOR OFFENSE
With his brace against No. 25 Wisconsin, senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan led the Spartans to a 2-0 win over the Badgers on Oct. 11. It was the first time this season that the Spartans had scored multiple goals in a game. Kerrigan is now second on the team in scoring with three goals. He is first on the team in shots on goal with 11.

FINDING HIS GROOVE
Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout leads the team in scoring with four goals and two assist for 10 points. He now has points in four of the Spartans' last six games. Stout has now reached double figures in scoring all three seasons that he has been at Michigan State with 12 as a freshman and 10 as a sophomore.

Sophomore forward Richie Ludwig, senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan, junior midfielder Jack Guggemos, sophomore defender Will Eby and freshman forward Mohamed Saad have also found the back of the net this season.

LOOKING AT THE HOOSIERS
Indiana holds a 6-3-5 overall record and stands 4-1-2 in the Big Ten. With 13 points, the Hoosiers are now second in the Big Ten standings just two points behind first-place Maryland. Indiana has won three-straight games, out-scoring its opponent 8-2 during that span.

Tommy Mihalic is third in the Big Ten in points scored with 17 off of eight goals and one assist. In league contests, Quinton Elliot and Samuel Sarver are tied for the team lead in scoring with seven points each. Elliot has three goals and one assist, while Sarver has one goal and five assists. All-Big Ten goalkeeper JT Harms has played all 14 games this season for Indiana. He has allowed only 17 goals in 14 games for a 1.21 GAA.

SERIES HISTORY
Indiana leads the overall series lead against Michigan State 43-17-7. In Bloomington, the Hoosiers are on top 20-17-6 In East Lansing, the IU leads the series 17-7-1. Indiana holds the edge on neutral ground, 6-3. The last time the two teams met in Bloomington on Sept. 23, 2022, where they battled to a 1-1 double overtime tie.

Last season in East Lansing, the No. 18/22 posted its first win over Indiana since 2014 with a 2-1 Victory for MSU on Sept. 22, 2023. Junior midfielder Sean Kerrigan, a native of Sligo, Ireland and with his parents visiting from Ireland in attendance, roofed a penalty kick goal in the 77th minute for a 2-1 Spartan advantage.

DID YOU KNOW?
Michigan State currently has a 4-2 Big Ten record. With one more league win, MSU will have the most conference wins since going 5-0-3 in 2017.

LAST TIME OUT
Senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan's two first-half goals helped the Michigan State men's soccer team take down No. 25 Wisconsin 2-0 Friday night DeMartin Stadium on Salute to Service Day.

The Spartans have now won three of their last four games to even out their record to 5-5-2. This is the first time since the COVID-19 shortened 2021 Spring season that MSU has won at least four Big Ten games. It is the first since 2018 that the Spartans have won four conference games during a normally played season. In 2018, Michigan State went 4-2-2 in the Big Ten and eventually advanced to the College Cup.

WRACKING UP THE CLEAN SHEETS
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Zac Kelly has earned five shutouts this season, including four in Big Ten play. He now has 10 career shutouts in two complete seasons for the Spartans. He has a 1.02 GAA this season and a 0.97 career GAA.

PUTTING IN THE TIME
Of all the field players, redshirt-junior defender Josh Adam leads the team in minutes player with 1,080. He is one of four Spartans to top the 990 minute mark along with goalkeeper Zac Kelly (1,061), defender Jeremy Sharp (1,038) and defender Brandon Munson (991).

IN CONFERENCE ACTION
The Spartans may not be lighting up the scoreboard in Big Ten play, but they have allowed only four goals in six games. Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Zac Kelly has played all 540 minutes in league play for a 0.67 GAA, which is lowest in the conference. He has made 20 saves in B1G games. Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout is tied for fifth in the league in goals scored in B1G games with three.

FRESHMAN FRENZY
Freshman defender Brandon Munson has made the most of his brief time as a Spartan. He has played in all 12 games, starting 10. Against Washington on Sept. 13, his bicycle kick back save prevented the Huskies from scoring and was the No. 1 play on ESPN SportsCenter. Fellow freshman forward Mohamed Saad has also played in all 12 games, starting five. He has scored one goal this season against Oregon State.

PACKING THE STANDS
Michigan State is 14th in the nation in attendance this season, averaging 1,736 fans per game this season. That stands fourth in the Big Ten behind Indiana (3,028), which is third, Maryland (2,243), which is eighth and Washington, which is 12th (1,839).

GETTING IN THE LINEUP
Through 12 games this season, MSU has used eight different starting lineups. In the first 12 games, four Spartans have started every in Zac Kelly, Cristiano Bruletti, Jeremy Sharp, and Josh Adam.

PLAY THE BEST TO BE THE BEST
Michigan State's game against No. 25 Wisconsin was the Spartans fifth game against a ranked team. MSU is 2-2-1 against ranked teams this season with a win against No. 15 UCLA. MSU has losses against No. 12/7 Maryland and No. 5 Oregon State. To open the season, the Spartans tied No. 25 SIUE, 1-1.

HERMANN TROPHY
Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout was named to the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch List. The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. Stout is the first Spartan to make the list since Giuseppe Barone and Patrick Nielsen were named to the Hermann Watch List in 2019.

PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List, as announced by the conference office. Juniors Jeremy Sharp, Jake Spadafora and Jonathan Stout were all honored by the league.

UP NEXT
After taking on Indiana on the road, MSU will return home for the 25th annual Battle for the Big Bear against Michigan on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

THE STAFF
MSU head coach Damon Rensing enters his 16th season at the helm of the Spartans. Assistant coaches T.J. Kolba is in his sixth season, while Nick Barry enters his fifth year at MSU. Reid Friedrichs, who enters his second 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.

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Players Mentioned

Josh Adam

Cristiano Bruletti

Will Eby

Jack Guggemos

Zac Kelly

Sean Kerrigan

Richie Ludwig

Brandon Munson

Mohamed Saad

Jeremy Sharp

Jake Spadafora

Jonathan Stout