press release:
Spartan Men’s Soccer Announces 2022 Schedule
Michigan State will face seven teams that reached the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Spartan Men’s Soccer Announces 2022 Schedule
Michigan State will face seven teams that reached the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State head coach Damon Rensing announced the Spartans’ 2022 schedule on Thursday.
MSU will take on seven teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, including Notre Dame, Akron, Bowling Green, Washington, Indiana, Maryland and Penn State. Notre Dame and Washington both reached the College Cup, with the Huskies making the College Cup final, falling to eventual champion Clemson.
“We are really excited about our 2022 schedule,” Rensing said. “Year in and year out, we have one of the best strength of schedules in the country. This year will be no different with two NCAA College Cup participants plus the Big Ten schedule, which is always one of the best soccer conferences in the country.
“What I really like about this schedule is it has a little bit of everything. We have our non-conference regional rivalries with Akron, Notre Dame, Western Michigan and Bowling Green, which are tough competitive games. We also host Army and Saint Mary’s from each coast. These are well-coached teams with different styles that we don’t normally play. We also have a cool experience traveling to Seattle to take on national runner-up Washington on The Friday night before our football team plays UW on Saturday, so there should a lot of Spartan fans on the west coast.”
Following a trio of exhibitions, Michigan State opens the season with three-straight home games against Army (Aug. 26), Notre Dame (Aug. 29) and Western Michigan (Sept. 1). The Spartans will then take on regional rivals Akron (Sept. 5) and Bowling Green (Sept. 9) on the road. Michigan State will make the trek to the Pacific Northwest to face Washington (Sept. 16), which is a day ahead of the Spartan football team’s clash with Huskies.
The Green and White will open Big Ten action on the road against Indiana on Sept. 23. The Spartans end September against in-state rival Michigan as the battle of the Big Bear Trophy returns to East Lansing on Sept. 27.
As the calendar changes to October, MSU will host Wisconsin (Oct. 2), before traveling to defending Big Ten Champion Penn State (Oct. 7). In their final non-conference game, MSU will take on Saint Mary’s (Oct. 11), before returning to B1G play to face Rutgers (Oct. 16), both of these battles will take place at the friendly confines of DeMartin Stadium. Michigan State will close out the road portion of the regular season at Maryland (Oct. 21) and Ohio State (Oct. 25). The Spartans will celebrate Senior Day against Northwestern (Oct. 30), ending the regular season.
The Big Ten Tournament will begin action on Nov. 6.
“The conference and non-conference home schedule will be some great games for our local community and our Red Cedar Rowdies to enjoy in full force. The Rowdies are a special student section and they are a great piece of the fun environment that DeMartin Stadium produces,” Rensing said.
