No. 19 MSU Soccer Travels to Penn State Saturday
10/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
• No. 19 Michigan State men's soccer returns to the road after a very successful three-game homestand. After going 2-0-1 during the homestand, MSU returns to the road to take on Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on BTN Plus.
MSU Notes vs. Penn StatePenn State Notes
The Spartans have gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. MSU has started October strong with a 3-0-1 record this month. Michigan State and Wisconsin are still tied for second in the Big Ten, behind first-place Maryland.
SCOUTING REPORT: PENN STATE
Penn State is 5-6-1 overall and 2-3-0 in Big Ten play to sit tied for fifth in the standings with Ohio State. The Nittany Lions are coming off of a 1-0 victory over non-conference foe, Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Oct. 11 to snap a three-game losing streak.
In the Big Ten, senior Connor Maloney is tied for fourth with four goals on the season and is ranked fourth with 0.36 goals per game throughout the 2016 campaign. Maloney is also ranked fourth in the conference with 11 points on the season and tied for sixth with three assists.
Redshirt junior Evan Finney and freshman Arie Ammann have split time almost evenly in the net. Finney has picked up a record of 2-2-1, while Ammann has amassed a record of 3-4-0. Finney sits at fourth in the Big Ten in saves per game with an average of 3.40, and Ammann is fifth after notching 23 saves for an average of 3.30 per game.
SPARTANS-NITTANY LIONS SERIES
Penn State holds a 21-13-2 overall record series lead over Michigan State. Last season, the two teams met twice. During the regular season, MSU stopped PSU at home 2-1. In the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions edged the Spartans, 2-1, in Columbus.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Forward Ryan Sierakowski has suffered no sophomore slump this season. In two seasons in the Spartan Green and White, Sierakowski is tied for seventh in career points for MSU with 24. He is also sixth with 10 career goals. With 2.88 shots per game this season, the sophomore is second in single-season shots per game. He is also first in the Big Ten in game-winning goals with five.
DEFENDING DEMARTIN
Michigan State has been stellar at home this season with a 6-0-1 record at DeMartin Stadium in 2016. Last season, MSU was 5-4-1 at home. The most wins that the Spartans have ever had at home was when they went 8-2-0 in 2010. Michigan State has two regular-season home games remaining this season.
FAST START
After starting the season 2-2, the Spartans have gone 8-1-1 since that time. MSU is looking to reach the double-digit win total for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
MICHAEL, MICHAEL, MICHAEL
The name Michael is a very popular one for Michigan State this season. Two different Michaels (Pimlott and Wetungu) have started every game this season. Michael Marcantognini has played in all 12 games this season, while Michael Beckett has played in four games. Pimlott, Wetungu and Beckett are all freshmen this season.
GETTING BETTERE ALL THE TIME
With nine wins this season, Michigan State has already passed last season's win total, as MSU finished last season 8-9-2. The young Spartans have also passed last season's Big Ten win total, as MSU was 2-4-2 in 2015.
GETTING IN THE CARDIO
Junior defender Jimmy Fiscus is the only Spartan to have played every minute this season, logging in 1,103 minutes. Seven players have played at least 1,000 minutes this season, including defenders Michael Pimlott and Dewey Lewis who both have played over 1,045 minutes. The Spartan conditioning seems to be paying off, as MSU has had the same starting 11 in 11 of the 12 games season.
FAMILIAR FACES
Michigan State had the same starting lineup for the first 11 games of the season. In MSU's 2-1 win over No. 23 Arkon, the Spartans had two changes with sophomore midfielder DeJuan Jones and redshirt-junior midfielder both making their first starts of the season.
BIG TEN OPENERS
Michigan State is 4-2-2 in the first match of Big Ten play under head coach Damon Rensing. The Spartans have won three of their last four B1G openers, picking up wins against Northwestern in 2013 and Maryland in 2014, before tying Maryland last season along with defeated Rutgers, 4-0, on Sept. 9.
This was the Spartans earliest Big Ten opener since opening the season against Northwestern on Sept. 3, 1994. Prior to that the earliest B1G game was also against Northwestern on Sept. 8, 1996. This was also the first time that MSU has opened league play against the Scarlet Knights.
YOUNG GUNS
Twelve of the Spartans' 17 goals this season have been scored by underclassmen. Sophomore Ryan Sierakowski is first on the team with seven goals. Sophomores DeJuan Jones and Hunter Barone have both scored two goals this season, while freshman Giuseppe Barone has added one as well. MSU has started five underclassmen this season, including freshmen Michael Wetungu, Michael Pimlott and Giuseppe Barone. Sophomores Hunter Barone and Jones have come off the bench.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Michigan State has three captains this season in seniors Andrew Herr and Dewey Lewis, along with junior Jimmy Fiscus.
UP NEXT
The Spartans have two remaining regular-season home games. On Wednesday, Oct. 19, MSU hosts Yale, who is coached by former Spartan assistant coach Kylie Stannard. Michigan State closes out the home portion of the regular-season schedule against Northwestern for Senior Day on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m.
TREVOR HARRIS ENTERS HALL OF FAME
An international import from Kingston, Jamaica, Trevor Harris helped guide the Michigan State soccer team to back-to-back Co-National Championships during the 1967 and 1968 seasons. The Harris-led Spartans were prolific scorers, setting the school record with 77 goals during the 1968 season.
Harris was a true goal scorer who helped head coach Gene Kenney's powerhouse teams share national titles in 1967-68 with a combined record of 23-1-5. The two-time All-American finished his illustrious Spartan career with 48 goals, which still ranks third on MSU's all-time list. From 1967-69, Harris earned 116 points, which also still stands as third-most in Michigan State history.
During the 1967 campaign, Harris scored 23 goals as a sophomore, which still ranks as the third-most goals in a single season in MSU history. The Spartans out-scored their opponents, 73-11, and finished with a stellar record of 12-0-2. They settled a score with Long Island with a 4-0 win in an NCAA semifinal. Michigan State battled to a 0-0 tie against St. Louis to share the NCAA Championship that will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
MICHIGAN STATE NOTES
• Michigan State men's soccer was picked sixth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll. The Spartans ended the 2015 campaign with an 8-9-2 overall record and a 2-4-2 Big Ten mark. Two-time defending Big Ten Tournament champion, Maryland was picked first despite finishing tied for third in the regular season in 2015. Indiana was voted to finish in the No. 2 spot, followed by 2015 regular season champs Ohio State at No. 3. Rutgers checked in at the No. 4 followed by Michigan at the No. 5 position and Michigan State at No. 6. Wisconsin was voted to finish in the No. 7 spot followed by Penn State (No. 8) and Northwestern (No. 9).
• During its 2016 campaign, Michigan State will take on seven 2015 NCAA Tournament qualifiers in their 17-game regular-season schedule, including six teams that finished in the NCAA RPI Top 25 and seven teams that finished in the NSCAA Top 25. The Spartans challenging schedule also includes 10 teams with 10 or more wins in 2015.
MSU will take on three teams in the top 10, including hosting No. 2 Akron on Oct. 11 at the DeMartin Soccer Complex. The Spartans will also travel to No. 4 Maryland in a Big Ten matchup on Sept. 23. MSU will end the regular season at No. 9 Notre Dame on Oct. 25 and No. 15 Indiana on Oct. 30.
• The 2016 Big Ten Tournament will begin on Sunday, Nov. 6 at the top four seeds' home sites. The semifinals will follow on Friday, Nov. 11 and the championship will be held on Sunday, Oct. 13. The Big Ten semifinal and championship will be played at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.
• MSU returns seven starters from last season's team that finished the season 8-9-2 overall and 2-4-2 in Big Ten action. The Spartans return two of their top three scorers in sophomore forward Ryan Sierakowski and junior midfielder Ken Krolicki. Sierakowski led the team in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 17 points. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman squad. Krolicki was third in scoring with two goals and three assists for seven points.
The Spartans' seven returning starters are part of the 17 returners from last season, including seniors Dewey Lewis and Andrew Herr. In goal, Michigan State has big shoes to fill in the graduation of all-time shutout leader Zach Bennett. Starters Jason Stacy and Zach Carroll have both graduated as well.
TOPDRAWER PRESEASON HONORS
The junior duo of defender Jimmy Fiscus and midfielder Ken Krolicki were named to the Preseason Top 100 Players Rankings by TopDrawerSoccer. Freshman midfielder Giuseppe Barone was tabbed to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman First Team.
BARONE BUNCH
Freshman Giuseppe Barone will become the fourth member of the Barone family to don the Green and White. He joins current Spartan Hunter as well as former MSU players Mark (2008-11) Domenic (2008-12).
LAST TIME OUT
• With the win, the Spartans are unbeaten in their last five matches, as well as concluding their three-game homestand with a stellar 2-0-1 record, to improve to 6-0-1 at the friendly confines of DeMartin this season. Overall, Michigan State improves to 9-2-1 this season, surpassing last season's win total when MSU was 8-9-2. Akron falls to 6-4-2 with the loss.
"I think it is part of the maturation process. It is a lot of the same players. We played a lot of good games last year; we just didn't find ways to win those games," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "Now we have another year under our belt. It's hard to win college soccer games. Any college sport is hard, but college soccer is hard. These guys know that now, and they are ready mentally for it for every game. I think now they have the confidence now."
The Spartans converted on their second shot of the second half to take the 2-0 advantage. After a corner kick by redshirt-junior midfielder Ryan Scott, junior defender Jimmy Fiscus headed the ball toward the goal. Hunter Barone took it from there, flicking in his second goal of the season and earning assists for Scott and Fiscus. The assists were career first for both players.
