Men's Soccer Returns Home to Face Oakland on Monday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer returns home to take on in-state foe Oakland on Monday, Sept. 8 at DeMartin Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Spartans are looking to bounce back from a 1-0 loss to Bowling Green on the road on Sept. 1. Michigan State is now 2-2 on the season. After tying No. 25 Michigan on Friday, Oakland stands 0-2-3 this season.

Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan will be on the call for B1G Student U.

LOOKING AT THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland has opened the season with an 0-2-3 record. The Grizzlies have already played two Big Ten teams this season, losing to Ohio State, 1-0, on Aug. 28 in Columbus. OU tied No. 25 Michigan at home on Sept. 1, 2-2 with a pair of second-half goals.

Christopher Jean Leger and Marco Mazzei are both tied for the team lead in scoring with two goals each for four points. Oakland has scored six goals this season, while allowing eight.

Three different goalkeepers have spent time in net for the Grizzlies this season. Sebastian Stanaj and Aiden Smith have both played in two games. Cole Thompson has played in one. In their last game against Michigan, Smith played all 90 minutes.

SERIES HISTORY
Oakland leads the overall series over Michigan State 23-14-4. In East Lansing, the Spartans have the slight edge, 10-8-4. On the road, the Golden Grizzlies are on top 15-4-0. MSU is looking for its first win against OU since a 3-1 win at home in 2021. Last season, Oakland came out on top in Rochester, 3-0. In 2023, the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie. In the last 10 meetings, MSU has the advantage 6-3-1.

FAMILIAR FACE
Spartan senior goalkeeper Michael Sly Jr. played two seasons at Oakland before transferring to Michigan State. He played in 24 games for the Golden Grizzlies.

REACHING A MILESTONE
With a win against Detroit Mercy on Sept. 1, MSU head coach Damon Rensing reached the 150 win-plateau. He is the second winningest coach in Spartan history. Hall of Famer Joe Baum is the all-time leader with 320 career wins. Rensing holds a career record of 150-114-49 in 17 seasons in the Green and White.

MAKING AN IMPACT
In the first four games, two newcomers have started all games. Junior transfer Miles Merritt and freshman Luke Spadafora have been in all games. Freshmen Chim Okeke, JEB Knox and Kayden Hudson have played in all four games Knox starting two. Freshman Peter Soudan has played in all four games and started the last three games. Luke Spadafora scored his first collegiate goal against Detroit Mercy on Sept. 1. Freshman Charlie Norkett has played in three games this season.

LUKE SPADAFORA EARNS LEAGUE HONOR
Luke Spadafora was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 2.

Spadafora is the second Spartan to earn B1G Freshman of the Week honors. The 2024 season was the first season that the award was given. Midfielder Brandon Munson was named Freshman of the Week on Oct. 1, 2024.

The midfielder, who hails from Northville, Michigan, scored the game-winning goal in MSU's 1-0 victory over Detroit Mercy on Sept. 1. His first goal in the Green and White was a game winner in the 78th minute was the game winner for the Spartans.

LEADERS OF THE PACK
Sophomore midfielder Brandon Munson and junior midfielder Miles Merritt lead the team in points with one goal and one assist for three points each. Freshman midfielder Luke Spadafora is the only other Spartan to find the back of the net this season.

DID YOU KNOW?
With two shutouts so far this season, senior goalkeeper Zac Kelly now has 14 career clean sheets. With his next shutout, he will be tied for eighth in the MSU record books. He would be tied with T.J. Lieckfelt (1997-00), Joe Baum (1967-68) and Paul Zimmerman (1983-85).

PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State men's soccer team had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List.

Kelly, who hails from Holt, Michigan, is the reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year. Last season, he was the first Michigan State athlete to earn B1G Goalkeeper of the Year honors since Jimmy Hague in 2017. Kelly started all 17 games for MSU last season, earning seven shutouts.

Merritt, a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was named a United Soccer Coaches Midfielder to Watch. The midfielder is in his first season with the Spartans after playing two years at Incarnate Word.

Munson, a sophomore who hails from Spring Hill, Florida, was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Ahead of the start of practice on Aug. 5, Michigan State head men's soccer coach Damon Rensing announced the three captains for the 2025 season in Zac Kelly, Josh Adam and Will Eby.

PRESEASON PLAY
The Spartans played two exhibition games in preparation for the 2025 season. On Aug. 10, Michigan State defeated Butler at DeMartin Stadium, 2-0. On Aug. 15, the Spartans came away with a 2-1 win at UIC.

PUTTING IN THE MINUTES
Several Spartans are logging in the minutes early on this season. Outside of goalkeeper Zac Kelly and defender Josh Adam, who have played all 360 minutes, defender Will Eby has logged in the most minutes with 349. Midfielders Luke Spadafora (336 minutes) and Miles Merritt (337) are next in minutes played.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State men's soccer was not able to overcome an early goal, falling to Bowling Green, 1-0, at Cochrane Stadium on Friday night.

The Spartans had one last opportunity with a corner kick with two minutes left. Freshman defender Charlie Norkett's header was saved by Bowling Green goalkeeper Gil Enzo, who made six saves on the day. Norkett had two shots in his 11 minutes of action.

MSU ended the game out-shooting Bowling Green, 16-7, including 11 in the second half.

UP NEXT
After facing Oakland, Michigan State will prepare to open Big Ten action on Friday, Sept. 12 at Washington at 10:30 p.m. ET.

THE STAFF
MSU head coach Damon Rensing enters his 17th season at the helm of the Spartans. Assistant coach T.J. Kolba is in his seventh season, while Nick Barry enters his sixth year at MSU. Reid Friedrichs, who enters his third year with Michigan State. Friedrichs has plenty of experience in the Green and White as a player, including Big Ten Player of the Year honors in 1996.

This year there is a new face on the Spartan bench in former Spartan Zach Carroll, who was the No. 38 overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls. He earned first-team All-Big honors in 2015.

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
MSU junior midfielder Colin Arce is following in his father's footsteps. Steve Arce played at Michigan State from 1998-01 when current head coach Damon Rensing was an assistant coach.

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Players Mentioned

Josh Adam

Colin Arce

Will Eby

Kayden Hudson

Zac Kelly

JEB Knox

Miles Merritt

Brandon Munson

Charlie Norkett

Michael Sly

Peter Soudan

Luke Spadafora