EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer continues its three-game road trip at Notre Dame on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.
The Spartans are looking to halt a two-game losing streak after a 5-1 loss at No. 24 Tulsa on Sept. 11. Overall, Michigan State is 2-3 this season. Notre Dame stands 1-2-1 this year after tying Boston College in its ACC opener on Sept. 10.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Senior midfielder
Michael Miller is seventh in the Big Ten in goals scored with two. Miller is also eighth in the league in points with five. Senior
Farai Mutatu is third in the Big Ten in shots with 14.
FINDING THE BACK OF THE NET
So far this season, six different Spartans have found the back of the net. Against No. 24 Tulsa, senior
Luke Morrell scored his first goal of the season and second as a Spartan. Senior
Michael Miller leads the team in scoring with two goals. Junior
Gianni Ferri, seniors
Farai Mutatu,
Louis Sala and redshirt-junior
Will Perkins also have goals.
MILLER TIME
Prior to this season, senior midfielder
Michael Miller had scored two goals in 56 games at MSU. In the first five games this year, he already scored two, including the game-winning goal against Cleveland State on Aug. 26.
PUTTING IN THE TIME
Seven Spartans have started all five games this season. Sixteen different players have started at least one game. Junior
Nick Stone leads the team in minutes played with 439.
LOOKING AT THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame holds a 1-2-1 record through the first four games of the season. The Irish earned a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois and has losses to the Spartans' Big Ten foe Indiana (3-2) and Kentucky (1-0). On Sept. 10, UND opened ACC action with a 1-1 tie against Boston College.
Notre Dame leads the overall series with Michigan State 18-8-6. The Fighting Irish also lead 12-3-2 in South Bend. The last time the teams met in 2019 was a close battle with Notre Dame coming out on top 1-0. Prior to that Michigan State had won the last two meetings in 2018 and 2016 by matching 1-0 margins. The series is very tight in the last five outings, tied 2-2-1.
Goalkeeper Bryan Dowd has played every minute between the pipes for the Irish this season, allowing only five goals for a 1.18 GAA. Matthew Roou leads the team in scoring with two goals for four points this season.
UP NEXT
After taking on regional rival, Notre Dame, MSU will close out the road trip at Wisconsin on Friday, Sept. 17 at 8:30 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. The Spartans will then return home to the friendly confines of DeMartin Stadium for a three-game homestand, beginning against Duquesne on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
The Spartan have named four captains this season. Leading MSU will be seniors
Jack Beck,
Michael Miller,
Farai Mutatu and
Will Perkins.
PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list.
Michael Miller is a three-year starter for Michigan State. In his Spartan career, the midfielder has played in 56 games, starting 41.
Hunter Morse enters his third year in goal for the Spartans. He has started 27 games in goal for MSU with three career shutouts.
Farai Mutatu earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after the spring 2021 season. After battling injuries much of the year, he ended the season with one goal.
BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Aug. 31
O: Tommy Mihalic, Fr., IU
D: Oren Asher, Jr., RU
Sept. 7
O: Ben Bender, So., UMD
D: Oren Asher, Jr., RU
