Friday, September 13
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
2-3-2, 1-0-0
1
vs
0
Washington
3-2-2, 0-1-0
1
2
F
Washington
0
0
0
Michigan St.
0
1
1
Team Stats
UW
MSU
Goals
0
1
Shots
12
9
Shots on Goal
4
2
Saves
1
3
Corners
4
2
Fouls
15
16
Scoring Plays
Jonathan Stout (2)
GOAL by MSU Stout, Jonathan.
61:14
Game Leaders
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
Spartans Open B1G Action with 1-0 Alumni Day Win over Washington
9/13/2024 10:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Stout scores his second goal of the season.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Behind a frenzied second half with thrilling defensive plays, the Michigan State men's soccer team captured a 1-0 win over Washington on Alumni Day to open Big Ten action.
With the win, the Spartans snap a three-game winless streak, improving to 2-3-2 this season and 1-0-0 in B1G play, while the Huskies fall to 3-2-2 this season, losing their Big Ten opener. This is MSU's first-ever win against Washington, as the series now stands 1-2-1.
"This is huge for the confidence of the players," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "I think that these types of wins could potentially change seasons. We haven't played far off in a lot of games like this, but sometimes you just need the ball to bounce your way to have that belief and to solidify what you're doing and reinforce what we're doing and we're really, really, really happy for the guys.
The Spartans came out aggressive in the first half with junior forward Jake Spadafora leading the charge with a shot in the second minute. Michigan State was locked in defensively with several blocked shots, keeping redshirt-junior goalkeeper Zac Kelly out of danger. By the end of the first half, UW led in the shot column 7-3.
In the second half, the Spartans came to life on both sides of the field. In the 62nd minute junior midfielder Jonathan Stout scored the game's only goal with a long distance blast that was out of reach of UW goalkeeper Jadon Bowton. It was one of only two shots on goal on the day for the Spartans. Stout leads the team with two goals this season.
The defense took it from there. In the 65th minute, Harrison Bertos' shot eluded Kelly, but freshman defender Brandon Munson's bicycle kick save kept the ball from reaching the back of the net, keeping MSU on top 1-0. In the 87th minute, a Spartan was called with a handball in the box leading to a Peter Kingston penalty kick. Kelly punched away the shot to thwart the Huskies again. Seconds later after a corner kick, Kelly was resilient again making a save on a Egor Akulov to seal the win.
"That's what coaching is all about," Rensing said. "You just want to see them enjoy what hard work and when you play together as a team what that can be and what the result can be. So I told them if they play like that I'll walk off the field regardless of the result happy for them. I think doing it in front of the alums, I told them too like that was a Spartan soccer team. It doesn't matter if you were there 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 or 40 years ago- every single alum is like that was a Spartan soccer team and that to me is the greatest compliment that I think you could give these guys in the 2024 season."
The Spartans improved to 2-0-0 this season when being out shot, as UW out-shot MSU 12-9. Kelly picked up his second shutout of the season.
"I think that it's a really good start for us and starting Big Ten Conference play like that," Kelly said. "It's a lot of momentum, and we need all of it. It's a really good start. I'm excited to see what we do in the next couple of games. That's what it means to us. Keep a zero on the scoreboard- they can't win, so, they gave us an opportunity to win the game, and it was our job to keep it that way."
Michigan State will next travel to Penn State on Friday, Oct. 20 at 7p.m.
With the win, the Spartans snap a three-game winless streak, improving to 2-3-2 this season and 1-0-0 in B1G play, while the Huskies fall to 3-2-2 this season, losing their Big Ten opener. This is MSU's first-ever win against Washington, as the series now stands 1-2-1.
"This is huge for the confidence of the players," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "I think that these types of wins could potentially change seasons. We haven't played far off in a lot of games like this, but sometimes you just need the ball to bounce your way to have that belief and to solidify what you're doing and reinforce what we're doing and we're really, really, really happy for the guys.
The Spartans came out aggressive in the first half with junior forward Jake Spadafora leading the charge with a shot in the second minute. Michigan State was locked in defensively with several blocked shots, keeping redshirt-junior goalkeeper Zac Kelly out of danger. By the end of the first half, UW led in the shot column 7-3.
In the second half, the Spartans came to life on both sides of the field. In the 62nd minute junior midfielder Jonathan Stout scored the game's only goal with a long distance blast that was out of reach of UW goalkeeper Jadon Bowton. It was one of only two shots on goal on the day for the Spartans. Stout leads the team with two goals this season.
The defense took it from there. In the 65th minute, Harrison Bertos' shot eluded Kelly, but freshman defender Brandon Munson's bicycle kick save kept the ball from reaching the back of the net, keeping MSU on top 1-0. In the 87th minute, a Spartan was called with a handball in the box leading to a Peter Kingston penalty kick. Kelly punched away the shot to thwart the Huskies again. Seconds later after a corner kick, Kelly was resilient again making a save on a Egor Akulov to seal the win.
"That's what coaching is all about," Rensing said. "You just want to see them enjoy what hard work and when you play together as a team what that can be and what the result can be. So I told them if they play like that I'll walk off the field regardless of the result happy for them. I think doing it in front of the alums, I told them too like that was a Spartan soccer team. It doesn't matter if you were there 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 or 40 years ago- every single alum is like that was a Spartan soccer team and that to me is the greatest compliment that I think you could give these guys in the 2024 season."
The Spartans improved to 2-0-0 this season when being out shot, as UW out-shot MSU 12-9. Kelly picked up his second shutout of the season.
"I think that it's a really good start for us and starting Big Ten Conference play like that," Kelly said. "It's a lot of momentum, and we need all of it. It's a really good start. I'm excited to see what we do in the next couple of games. That's what it means to us. Keep a zero on the scoreboard- they can't win, so, they gave us an opportunity to win the game, and it was our job to keep it that way."
Michigan State will next travel to Penn State on Friday, Oct. 20 at 7p.m.
Damon Rensing | Men's Soccer Press Conference | Sep. 29 2025
Monday, September 29
Spartans All-Access | Keeper of the Turf
Thursday, November 14
Playing Out His Dream | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, October 31
Coach Rensing | Men's Soccer Press Conference | Oct. 14 2024
Monday, October 14