Friday, October 31
Piscataway, NJ
7 PM
Michigan State University
5-7-3, 2-4-3
1
at
1
Rutgers
8-5-3, 3-4-2
1
2
F
Michigan St.
0
1
1
Rutgers
1
0
1
Michigan State Ties Rutgers in Regular-Season Road Finale
10/31/2025 11:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — A late second-half goal, led the Spartan men's soccer team to a 1-1 draw at Yurcak Field in Piscataway N.J. on a cold and windy Halloween Friday night.
With the tie, Michigan State stands to 5-7-3 this season and 2-4-3 in B1G games. Rutgers is 8-5-3 overall record and 3-4-2 in league play. Both the Spartans and the Scarlet Knights were officially eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament with the tie.
The Scarlet Knights jumped on the scoreboard first in the 12th minute. Francesco Di Ponzio scored his second goal of the season after redshirt-senior goalkeeper Zac Kelly came out from his line, Di Ponzio snuck the ball past him. The goal came after passes from Andrew Kitch and Nestor Cabrera.
Michigan State out-shot Rutgers, 6-2 in the period, but were not able to capitalize on those chances.
In the 42nd minute, MSU looked to tie the score after a Scarlet Knight player was called for a handball in the box. Junior midfielder Richie Ludwig's penalty kick attempt was saved by RU goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton. The Spartans were able to get a corner kick after the miss, but were not able to find the back of the net before half time.
In the second half, the Spartans fought to find the equalizer, while the Scarlet Knights pushed for a second goal. Kelly was forced to make several great saves. Joschi Schelb forced Kelly to make saves in the 61st and 65th minutes.
The Spartans finally found the equalizer in the 81st minute. The play started with a shot by sophomore forward Oscar Huerta that was saved by Dalton. Freshman midfielder Peter Soudan collected the rebound and got it to Ludwig for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
From that point, both teams were pushing in the final nine minutes. The Spartans last chance was a shot by freshman midfielder Luke Spadafora that went just wide.
For the game, MSU out-shot RU 11-7 with five corner kicks to none for the Scarlet Knights.
Michigan State will end the regular season against No. 4 Maryland on Friday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m.
With the tie, Michigan State stands to 5-7-3 this season and 2-4-3 in B1G games. Rutgers is 8-5-3 overall record and 3-4-2 in league play. Both the Spartans and the Scarlet Knights were officially eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament with the tie.
The Scarlet Knights jumped on the scoreboard first in the 12th minute. Francesco Di Ponzio scored his second goal of the season after redshirt-senior goalkeeper Zac Kelly came out from his line, Di Ponzio snuck the ball past him. The goal came after passes from Andrew Kitch and Nestor Cabrera.
Michigan State out-shot Rutgers, 6-2 in the period, but were not able to capitalize on those chances.
In the 42nd minute, MSU looked to tie the score after a Scarlet Knight player was called for a handball in the box. Junior midfielder Richie Ludwig's penalty kick attempt was saved by RU goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton. The Spartans were able to get a corner kick after the miss, but were not able to find the back of the net before half time.
In the second half, the Spartans fought to find the equalizer, while the Scarlet Knights pushed for a second goal. Kelly was forced to make several great saves. Joschi Schelb forced Kelly to make saves in the 61st and 65th minutes.
The Spartans finally found the equalizer in the 81st minute. The play started with a shot by sophomore forward Oscar Huerta that was saved by Dalton. Freshman midfielder Peter Soudan collected the rebound and got it to Ludwig for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
From that point, both teams were pushing in the final nine minutes. The Spartans last chance was a shot by freshman midfielder Luke Spadafora that went just wide.
For the game, MSU out-shot RU 11-7 with five corner kicks to none for the Scarlet Knights.
Michigan State will end the regular season against No. 4 Maryland on Friday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m.
Team Stats
MSU
RU
Goals
1
1
Shots
11
7
Shots on Goal
5
4
Saves
3
4
Corners
5
0
Fouls
14
9
Scoring Plays
Francesco Di Ponzio (2)
Assisted By: Andrew Kitch , Nestor Cabrera
GOAL by RU Di Ponzio, Francesco Assist by Kitch, Andrew and Cabrera, Nestor.
11:12
Richie Ludwig (4)
Assisted By: Peter Soudan
GOAL by MSU Ludwig, Richie Assist by Soudan, Peter.
80:16
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's SoccerM
/ Men's SoccerM
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