MSU Soccer Travels to Georgetown in Third Round NCAA Tournament Action

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State continues its NCAA Tournament run, traveling to 13th-seeded Georgetown on Sunday, Nov. 25 for a third-round matchup at 1 p.m.

Michigan State improved to 12-4-4 after a, 2-1, overtime win over fourth-seeded Louisville on Nov. 18. MSU also defeated UIC in the first round at home on Nov. 15, 2-0. Georgetown is 13-4-3 with a four-game winning streak.

If available, live video and live stats links will be at www.msuspartans.com.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This is the Spartans' eighth NCAA appearance under head coach Damon Rensing. MSU has posted a 9-5-3 record in NCAA Tournament games under his guidance. The Spartans advanced to the Elite Eight in 2013, 2014 and 2017. Overall, MSU has reached the NCAA Tournament 20 times with a 27-14-5 record.

Last season, MSU hosted a pair of NCAA games with wins over the Hokies and the Broncos, respectively. This was the second-straight season that the Spartans hosted an NCAA Tournament game. In Bloomington in the Elite Eight, Michigan State and Indiana drew 1-1, but the Hoosiers advanced to the College Cup, 3-2, on penalty kicks.

In 2016 in the first round, SIU Edwardsville advanced 9-8 on penalty kicks. The teams battled to a 1-1 tie in double overtime, before the Cougars edged the Spartans in the penalty kick round.

OVERTIME
To reach the Sweet 16, the Spartans won their first overtime game of the season. MSU had been 0-3-4 in extra time this season before the 2-1 overtime win against Louisville.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
The Hoyas enter Sunday's match with an overall record of 13-4-3 and are currently on a four-game winning streak dating back to a 2-1 overtime victory over Creighton on Oct. 31. Georgetown earned the Big East's automatic bid into the tournament after defeating Marquette in the conference championship game, 2-0. To reach the Round of 16, the Hoyas defeated West Virginia by a final tally of 1-0. In the NCAA Tournament, Georgetown owns a 9-5-5 record with a 1-1-2 mark in the Round of 16. This is the ninth time that Georgetown has reached the NCAA tournament and the seventh time in the last nine seasons.

Offensively the Hoyas finished out the regular season ranked No. 3 in shots per game and No. 5 in shots on goal per game at the national level with 17.6 and 7.35 respectively. Derek Dodson leads Georgetown in scoring with 19 points on a team-best nine goals and one assist. Kyle Zajec and Dylan Nealis are tied for the team-high in assists with seven. Nealis was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and was named First Team All-Big East alongside Dodson and Achara. The Hoyas have a handful of talented goalkeepers on the roster with three earning wins during the season. Giannis Nikopolidis is 9-4-3 as a starter with eight shutouts and a .821 save percentage. Ethan Koehler was the starter in goal for Georgetown's second round match-up against West Virginia however and owns a 3-0 record on the year alongside a .938 save percentage.

SPARTANS VS HOYAS SERIES
The Spartans have a small series history with the Hoyas, as Sunday's match-up is just the fourth all-time meeting, with Georgetown leading the series, 2-1, although MSU's lone win in the series was also in an NCAA Tournament game played in Washington, D.C., in MSU's third game in the NCAA Tournament, with Michigan State as the higher-seed and Georgetown as the lower seed. The 11th-seeded Spartans beat the sixth-seeded Hoyas on their home field, 1-0, on Dec. 1, 2013, in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, as the Spartans advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the first time since their national title run of 1968. In the 2013 win, a goal in the 28th minute from Adam Montague off a ball played in by Jay Chapman (currently in the MLS with Toronto FC), gave the Spartan defense all they needed to hold off the Georgetown attack and punch their ticket to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Michigan State and Georgetown first met in 2010, with GU winning, 4-0, in Washington, D.C., then against in 2011, 2-1 (2OT), in East Lansing, in the teams' only two regular-season meetings.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
With an assist on the game-winning goal against UIC on Nov. 15, junior midfielder Giuseppe Barone is now tied for fifth on the single-season assist list. Andrew Roff (1994) and Jim Galina (1985) are the other two Spartans to reach 10 assist. Tom Kreft is the all-time leader in single-season assists with 15 in 1968.

SECOND-HALF SURGE
Michigan State has been a second-half scoring machine this season. The Spartans have scored nine goals in the first half and 22 in the second. Last season, MSU netted 11 in the first and 16 in the final period of regulation.

OFFENSIVE DEFENDERS
This season, the Spartans have been getting offense from more than just their forwards. Defenders Patrick Nielsen and Michael Wetungu have both scored two goals this year and both have one game-winning goal. Fellow defender John Freitag has also added three goals and two game-winning goal. Before losing him to injury, defender Nick Woodruff also added a goal.

POSTSEASON PROS
The Spartans senior class has now made the postseason three out of the last four season, including reaching the Elite Eight last season. Jimmy Hague, Ryan Sierakowski, Connor Corrigan and Hunter Barone have played in four NCAA Tournament games so far in their careers.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Hague now has 26 career clean sheets in the Spartan Green and White, which now puts alone in second in the Spartan record books, passing Avery Steinlage (2008-10) and John Spink (1984, 86-88). MSU great Zach Bennett (2012-15) is the all-time shutout leader with 35.

MAKING AN IMPACT
This season, the Spartans have had five Spartans earn their first point this season. Freshman forward Farai Mutatu is fifth in scoring with three goals and two assists for eight points. Sophomore Patrick Nielsen had two goals this season. Freshman Jack Beck and redshirt-freshman Nick Woodruff also scored their first goals of their collegiate careers in 2018. Junior Michael Wetungu also captured his first Spartan goal against Akron on Oct. 9.

RYAN'S RISE
MSU senior forward Ryan Sierakowski is rising up the Michigan State all-time scoring charts. He currently has 77 points in 78 games in a MSU uniform, which is good for tied for 10th all-time. He has 31 goals and 15 assists in four seasons. His 31 goals place him alone in eighth, passing with Zdravko Rom (1973-76) who had 30 . He is now tied with Rubens Filizola for 10th (1960-62) with 77 points.

DEFEND DEMARTIN
Michigan State has been solid at home over the last few years. The Spartans were 9-0-2 at home in 2016 and 7-1-2 last season. MSU's only loss came during the Big Ten Tournament last season. In 2018, the Spartans are 6-3-3 at home. Michigan State is 19-3-6 during the regular season in the last three years.

SUPER SIERAKOWSKI
Senior forward Ryan Sierakowski is looking to become the first Spartan to lead the team in points for four-straight seasons. Sierakowski had 17 point as a freshman, 23 as a sophomore and 21 as a junior. He currently is tied for the team lead in scoring with six goals and four assists for 16 points. Junior midfielder Giuseppe Barone has three goals and 10 assists for 16 points.

LAST TIME OUT
An overtime goal by senior defender John Freitag in the 93rd minute, sends the Michigan State men's soccer team to the Sweet 16 for the second time in as many seasons with a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Louisville on Sunday in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Spartans captured their first overtime win of the season, improving to 1-3-4 in extra time. With the win, Michigan State improves to 12-4-4 overall, earning its second win over a top-10 ranked opponent this season. Louisville ends the season with a 11-5-3 record.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is third in the Big Ten in points scored with 101, averaging 5.05 points per game. Indiana is first with 142 for 6.76 ppg. Senior forward Ryan Sierakowski is tied for sixth in goals with five. Sierakowski is tied for third in the league in game-winning goals with three, behind Indiana's Andrew Gutman who has six. Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Hague is tied for third in shutouts with eight. He is also first in save percentage (.839). Hague is second in goals against average (0.67) behind Indiana's Trey Muse (0.52). Junior midfielder Giuseppe Barone is tied for first in the league in assists with 10 in the 20 games.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
This season, Michigan State will have three captains in seniors Connor Corrigan, Jimmy Hague and DeJuan Jones.

BARONE BUNCH
Junior Giuseppe Barone became the fourth member of the Barone family to don the Green and White last season. He joins current Spartan Hunter as well as former MSU players Mark (2008-11) Domenic (2008-12).

MSU Soccer Travels to Georgetown in Third Round NCAA Tournament Action

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Players Mentioned

Giuseppe Barone

Hunter Barone

Jack Beck

Connor Corrigan

John Freitag

Jimmy Hague

DeJuan Jones

Farai Mutatu

Patrick Nielsen

Ryan Sierakowski

Michael Wetungu

Nick Woodruff