No. 5-Seeded Spartans Stopped by No. 4-Seeded Washington on Penalty Kicks, 5-3

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – After battling for 110 minutes to a 0-0 draw, the No. 4-seeded Michigan State men's soccer team had its Big Ten Tournament come to an end against No. 5-seeded Washington, 5-3, in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals Thursday night at SeatGeek Stadium.

The Spartans end the season 5-7-5, while the Huskies now stand 8-4-6 with the tie. Washington advances to the semifinals, where it will take on No. 1-seeded Ohio State on Sunday.

"First off, it was a hard-fought match. I thought that we played well at times. Washington is a really good team. This was typical of what a college soccer playoff game should look like," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "Neither team wanted to give up much. We had a few chances, but things just didn't fall our way. You really leave it to chance when it comes down to penalty kicks, but I am really proud of this group. We played high-end soccer all year in one of the best conferences in college soccer."

Michigan State came out as the aggressor in the early moments of the first half. Senior midfielder Shion Soga and junior midfielder Cristiano Bruletti both had early shots for MSU. As the game settled in, the Huskies had their opportunities as well. Freshman forward Mohammed Saad had an excellent half for the Spartans.

In the second half, senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan and junior midfielder Jack Guggemos both had solid chances, but were unable to find the back of the net. Once again, Washington battled back and were relentless in its offensive third, but were also turned away by the MSU defense.

After remaining tied at the end of 90 minutes, the Spartans went on to play in their first overtime game since the 2021 season. Michigan State's last overtime game was a 2-1 win at Rutgers on Oct. 10, 2021, before overtime was eliminated from the regular season this year.

Neither team was able to find the go ahead goal in either 10-minute overtime period. The Spartans had three shots in the second overtime, but weren't able to find the back of the net.

Washington was able to make all five penalty kicks, while the Spartans missed wide right on one attempt. This was the first game that Michigan State played with penalty kicks since tying Indiana, 2-2, in the Elite Eight in 2017. The Hoosiers came out on top in Bloomington that time, 3-2.

"This is not how we wanted our season to end," Rensing said. "But I am optimistic about the future of Spartan soccer with a lot of returning players. With that said, I want to thank our seniors for all their efforts. They are great kids and wonderful student-athletes. They really epitomize what it means to be part of the Spartan family."

This was the second time that Michigan State and Washington battled to a penalty kick shootout. In the Sweet Sixteen in 2014, it was the Spartans that advanced, 4-3.

Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Zac Kelly earned his seventh shutout of the season with Thursday night's clean sheet.

For the game, Washington out-shot Michigan State, 15-13. Kelly made five saves to four from UW's Jadon Bowton.

Team Stats

Sean Kerrigan

Jeremy Sharp

Shion Soga

Will Eby

Players Mentioned

Cristiano Bruletti

Jack Guggemos

Zac Kelly

Sean Kerrigan

Shion Soga