No. 8 Spartan Men’s Soccer Suffers First Big Ten Loss to UCLA

Saturday, October 3

Los Angeles, Calif.

9 PM ET

Michigan State University

7-2-1, 3-1-0

UCLA

5-1-4, 2-1-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Michigan St.	0	0	0
UCLA	0	3	3

No. 8 Spartan Men’s Soccer Suffers First Big Ten Loss to UCLA

10/4/2026 12:25:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score UCLA 3, MSU 0 MSU Statistics

Michigan State falls to 3-1 in conference play.

LOS ANGELES -- No. 8 Michigan State suffered its first Big Ten loss of the season, 3-0, to UCLA in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

With the loss, the Spartans fall to 7-2-1 overall and 3-1-0 in Big Ten play. UCLA improves to 5-1-4 overall and 2-1-2 in league play. Michigan State was shutout for just the second time this season.

"We played well in spells, but didn't do what we needed to do to win on the road," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "It wasn't a 3-0 game, statistically it was a very even game. We were obviously pushing to tie the game and gave up two in the last four minutes. We were very good in the first 30 minutes. We controlled the game and created the majority of the chances. We really needed to find a goal in the first 30 minutes on the road."

The Spartans used the same starting lineup for the sixth-straight game.

Senior midfielder Leo Conneh had the first shot on goal of the match in just the second minute of action. The Spartans had the early momentum controlling the pace of the game early. As the half played on, the game evened out. After the first 45 minutes of action the game remained scoreless. UCLA had the slight edge in shots 8-7 and had a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.

In the 49th minute, Michigan State conceded its first goal of Big Ten play. Diego Castano took a pass from Zachary Neuls and blasted it past MSU goalkeeper Jake Grekowicz.

After the goal, the Spartans continued to apply pressure on the Bruins with shot from junior midfielder Brandon Munson and Conneh.

Grekowicz was big in the 81st minute making a save on a Ander Marticorena shot.

Michigan State went on the offensive trying to find the second goal adding offensive players. UCLA was able to take of that scoring two goals in the final four minutes. Jaime Amaro scored in the 86th minute, while Oliver Roche made it a 3-0 game in the 87th minute.

"Give credit to UCLA. They started the second half out bright, and then I thought we did a lot to go after them. In the end, we just couldn't quite get the tying goal. We have to go back and get ready for a good Maryland team. We have been very good all season in front of the net, and tonight we were just not ourselves," Rensing said.

For the game, UCLA out-shot MSU 18-13, while Michigan State had the slight edge in corner kicks 5-4.

The Spartans remain on the road to take on No. 6 Maryland Friday, Oct. 9 in College Park.

Michigan State Soccer Ticket Membership are available for $100 for adults & $50 for youth/senior. Season tickets are on sale now online through the Spartan Ticket Office here or by calling 517-355-1610.

To purchase tickets for any Michigan State athletics event, visit the Spartan Ticket Office online at MSUSpartans.com; fans can also call the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610, or email tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information, or fans can visit the MSU Ticket Office in person, located in 1855 Place.