OTHER MSU SPORTS Michigan State Men’s Soccer Drops Heartbreaker to Bowling Green Monday
- By Kevin Knight
- Spartans Illustrated Message Board
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This is the second-straight season the Spartans and the Falcons have met in the home opener.
Login to view embedded mediaEAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer opens the home schedule against Bowling Green on Monday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium. Monday is Welcome Back Students Night at DeMartin.
In the season opener, the Spartans tied No. 25 SIUE 1-1 in Edwardsville, Illinois on Thursday, Aug. 22. Senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan provided the offense converting a penalty kick in the first half.
Brad LaPlante and Joe DesVergnes are on the call for B1G+.
LOOKING AT THE FALCONS
Bowling Green earned a season-opening win against Wright State on Friday, 3-2. After trailing 2-0 at half time, the Falcons came fighting back to score three second-half goals.
BGSU was picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Falcons return 17 of 20 players from last year's team. Alberto Anaya and Trace Terry were both named All-MVC honors last season.
SERIES HISTORY
Michigan State leads the overall series with Bowling Green 25-17-7. In East Lansing, MSU holds a 10-3 advantage, while having a slight lead at Bowling Green 11-10-4. Last season's meeting was also MSU's home opener with the Spartans coming out on top 3-0. Michigan State got goals from Efosa Emovon, Jake Spadafora and Colin Arce. MSU is 8-1-1 against BGSU in the last 10 games.
RULE CHANGES THIS SEASON
This season the clock will stop on substitutions with 15 minutes left if the game is tied or the winning team makes a sub.
Substitutions can be made during any stoppage of time.
Another change is to allow teams six moments to make substitutions in a game. Current substitution exceptions for goalkeepers, injury caused by an opposing player who was cautioned or ejected, bleeding injury, blood on the uniform, concussion evaluation and a permanent medical condition will not count as a moment as long as no other substitutions are made at the same time by that team. If a coach has used all of their moments and there is an injury not covered by the current exceptions listed previously, the team will play short. For postseason overtime games, any unused moments will carry over and one additional moment for all of overtime will be awarded.
PK KING
Senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan scored the Spartans' only goal in the 1-1 tie against No. 25 SIUE. Kerrigan continues to shine from the penalty spot. Last season, Kerrigan led Michigan State in scoring with 12 points on six goals. Five of his six goals were penalty kicks.
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. Prior to that, Ryan Sierakowski was honored in 2017. Goalkeeper Avery Steinlage was named to the watch list in 2010. In 2014, midfielder Jay Chapman was named a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, becoming the first Spartan in school history to achieve the feat.
PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State men's soccer team had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
Juniors Jeremy Sharp, Jake Spadafora and Jonathan Stout were all honored by the league.
The Big Ten preseason poll was also released Tuesday, as voted on by the 11 conference coaches. This is first season the league has expanded to 11 teams with the addition of UCLA and Washington. MSU was voted to pick fifth, while Indiana was once again picked to win the league. Penn State was voted second, while newcomer UCLA was picked third.
Sharp, who hails from Roseville, Michigan, earned a spot on the B1G Player to Watch list for the first time in his career. Last season, the defender earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, playing in all 15 games. Sharp ended the season with third-team All-North Region honors. He was tied for third on the team in scoring last season with seven points on one goal and a team-high five assists.
Stout, a native of Wyoming, Michigan, was second on the team in scoring last season with 10 points on five goals. The midfielder was named to the preseason list last season as well. Stout was also named first-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore. He also captured first-team All-North Region honors.
Spadafora, a forward who hails from Northville, Michigan, was tied for third on the team in scoring with three goals and one assist for seven points. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors last season, as well as capturing second-team All-North Region accolades. Spadafora was also named to the watch list last season.
PRESEASON PLAY
The Spartans played two exhibition games to prepare for the 2024 season. On Aug. 12, MSU defeated Butler on the road 3-2. The Spartans fell in their final exhibition to UIC 1-0 on Aug. 16 at DeMartin Stadium.
NEWCOMERS
The Spartans welcome eight new players to the 2024 roster with four freshmen and four transfers. Senior midfielders Levin Gerhardt and Shion Soga come to MSU from CSUN and South Florida, respectively. Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Michael Sly Jr. comes to the Spartans from Oakland, while redshirt-sophomore defender Ryan Van De Winkle transferred from Loyola Chicago.
The Spartans also welcome freshmen: goalkeeper Jake Grekowicz, forward Oscar Huerta, defender Brandon Munson and midfielder Jared Smid.
GUESS WHO'S BACK
Michigan State brings back its top eight scorers from last season, including leading scorer senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan, who led the team with six goals for 12 points. Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout was second in scoring with 10 points on five goals. Juniors Jake Spadafora and Jeremy Sharp were tied for third in scoring with seven points.
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Zac Kelly returns in net for the Spartans. Kelly had a fantastic season last season, allowing only 15 goals in 16 games for a 0.94 GAA.
UP NEXT
The Spartans next host Villanova on Friday, Sept. 30 at 12 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.
Game preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
