Michigan State Men’s Soccer Returns to the Pitch for First Practice
8/5/2025 5:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Spartan men's soccer opened the 2025 season with its first training sessions on Tuesday. Michigan State began at 9 a.m. with drills and conditioning at the DeMartin Stadium practice field.
They returned for a second training session in the afternoon.
MSU head coach Damon Rensing enters his 17th season at the helm of the Spartans. Assistant coaches T.J. Kolba, Reid Friedrichs, Nick Barry and Zach Carroll also return to the bench in 2025. Friedrichs and Carroll are both former Spartans.
"I thought it was great. It is just one of the best days of the year," Rensing said. "We have a new look on life. It is great to see everyone together. We have been talking throughout the summer, but to get on the field and actually kick the ball to each other is great. We have a great core group of players and a young talented group of guys coming in too. I really like this group, and I think we are further along than we were at the start of last year. And today is just the first day."
The Spartans open action with a pair of exhibition matches, starting on Sunday, Aug. 10, hosting Butler at 2 p.m. Michigan State's final road test will come against UIC on Friday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m.
Michigan State welcomes 12 newcomers this season, three transfers in Miles Merritt (Incarnate Word), Andrew Darakdjian (Oakland) and David Anderson (St. Johns). MSU also welcomes nine freshmen, including Luke Spadafora, who is the brother of Spartan senior Jake Spadafora.
MSU will take on eight teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, including Big Ten opponents Washington, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, UCLA and Maryland. Non-conference opponents Pitt and Kansas City also both reached the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State also reached the College Cup last season.
They returned for a second training session in the afternoon.
MSU head coach Damon Rensing enters his 17th season at the helm of the Spartans. Assistant coaches T.J. Kolba, Reid Friedrichs, Nick Barry and Zach Carroll also return to the bench in 2025. Friedrichs and Carroll are both former Spartans.
"I thought it was great. It is just one of the best days of the year," Rensing said. "We have a new look on life. It is great to see everyone together. We have been talking throughout the summer, but to get on the field and actually kick the ball to each other is great. We have a great core group of players and a young talented group of guys coming in too. I really like this group, and I think we are further along than we were at the start of last year. And today is just the first day."
The Spartans open action with a pair of exhibition matches, starting on Sunday, Aug. 10, hosting Butler at 2 p.m. Michigan State's final road test will come against UIC on Friday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m.
Michigan State welcomes 12 newcomers this season, three transfers in Miles Merritt (Incarnate Word), Andrew Darakdjian (Oakland) and David Anderson (St. Johns). MSU also welcomes nine freshmen, including Luke Spadafora, who is the brother of Spartan senior Jake Spadafora.
MSU will take on eight teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, including Big Ten opponents Washington, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, UCLA and Maryland. Non-conference opponents Pitt and Kansas City also both reached the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State also reached the College Cup last season.
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