Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's men's soccer team will host Washington on Alumni Night, Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m., aiming to end a three-game winless streak. The Spartans currently hold a record of 1-3-2 this season after a recent 3-0 loss to Oakland.

Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout leads the team in scoring with one goal and one assist. Senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan, sophomore forward Richie Ludwig, and freshman forward Mohamed Saad have also scored this season.

The game against Washington marks the beginning of Big Ten play for MSU. Historically, the Spartans have performed well in their conference openers, with a record of 6-1-3 over the last ten seasons. Last year, they tied Rutgers 1-1 in their league opener.

Washington enters the match with a record of 3-1-2 following a significant victory over No. 11 Seattle. The Huskies' top scorer is Charlie Kosakoff with six points from two goals and two assists.

In their series history, Michigan State has yet to secure a win against Washington, trailing 2-0-1. Their last encounter was in Seattle in 2022 where Washington won 4-1.

This season, MSU has utilized five different starting lineups across six games. Five players—Zac Kelly, Shion Soga, Cristiano Bruletti, Jeremy Sharp, and Josh Adam—have started every game so far.

Six Big Ten teams are currently ranked in national polls: Wisconsin (No. 8), Northwestern (No.14), Michigan (No.22) in the United Soccer Coaches Poll; Wisconsin (No.7), UCLA (No.12), Indiana (No.20), and Ohio State (No.25) in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll.

Rule changes this season include stopping the clock during substitutions if the game is tied or if the leading team makes a substitution within the final fifteen minutes.

Senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan remains proficient from penalty spots; he led Michigan State last season with twelve points from six goals—five of which were penalties.

Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout was named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List—the first Spartan since Giuseppe Barone and Patrick Nielsen in 2019 to receive this honor.

Three MSU players were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List: juniors Jeremy Sharp, Jake Spadafora, and Jonathan Stout.

The Spartans have added eight new players for this season: four freshmen and four transfers including Levin Gerhardt from CSUN and Shion Soga from South Florida among others.

Following their game against Washington, MSU will face Penn State on Sept. 20 and No.12 UCLA on Sept.27 away from home.

Head coach Damon Rensing is now in his sixteenth season leading MSU's men's soccer program with assistant coaches T.J Kolba and Nick Barry entering their sixth and fifth years respectively.