No. 20 Spartan Soccer Hosts Yale Wednesday
10/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 20 Michigan State men's soccer concludes the home portion of the regular-season schedule this week, beginning with Yale on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. The Spartans conclude the two-game homestand against Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. on Senior Day.
Michigan State is 9-3-1 this season after a win against No. 23 Akron on Oct. 11 and a loss on the road to Penn State on Oct. 15.
SCOUTING REPORT: YALE
The Bulldogs are 2-5-2 overall and 1-1-1 in Ivy League action. Yale snapped a six-match winless streak with a 3-0 win at Cornell on Oct. 16. The Bulldogs also have a win against Sacred Heart on Sept. 10.
Nicky Downs leads the team in points with one goal and five assists for seven points. Henry Flugstad-Clarke is the team's leading goal scorer with a trio of goals for six points.
SPARTANS-BULLDOGS SERIES
The Spartans and the Bulldogs have a very brief history with one tie in 2005. The only meeting between the teams came in New Haven, Connecticut in 2005 when the two teams tied 1-1 in double overtime.
The two teams have one common opponent so far this season. Yale tied Michigan, 2-2, in double overtime in Ann Arbor on Sept. 5. The Spartans edged the Wolverines, 1-0, on Sept. 18. MSU is 1-0 against the Ivy League with a 2-1 win over Columbia on Sept. 5.
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.
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.
HOMECOMING GAME
Coming back to East Lansing is a homecoming for Yale head coach Kylie Stannard who was an assistant coach at Michigan State for six years (2009-14), including being named associate head coach in 2014. In his second season at the helm of the Bulldogs, Stannard and Yale are currently 2-5-2 this season.
AROUND THE BIG TEN
Top-ranked Maryland clinched its second outright Big Ten title in three seasons last week. Michigan State, Indiana and Wisconsin are all tied for second with 10 points. Penn State is fifth with nine points. MSU has two B1G games remaining against Northwestern and Indiana.
