Darakjian Brace Leads No. 19 MSU Past Northwestern in B1G Opener

Tuesday, September 15

East Lansing, Mich.

7 PM

Michigan State University

5-1-1, 1-0-0

Northwestern

3-3-1, 1-1-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Northwestern	0	0	0
Michigan St.	0	2	2

Darakjian Brace Leads No. 19 MSU Past Northwestern in B1G Opener

9/15/2026 10:54:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score MSU 2, Northwestern 0 MSU Statistics

The Spartans improve to 5-0-1 at DeMartin Stadium this season.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Behind senior forward Andrew Darakjian's first two Big Ten goals, No. 19 Michigan State men's soccer earned a hard-fought 2-0 win over Northwestern Tuesday night at DeMartin Stadium.

With the win, the Spartans improve to 5-1-1 and 1-0-0 in Big Ten play this season with their first win of September. Michigan State has now matched its win total of all of last season after going 5-8-3 in 2025. Northwestern was coming off an upset of then-No. 2 Maryland on Sept. 11. After today's loss, the Wildcats stand 3-3-1 overall and 1-1 in the league.

"Yeah, I thought we were pretty determined after not getting the result we wanted against a very good Kansas City team. So, I thought the guys were very focused. Northwestern is a good team. Everybody in the Big Ten is very good. It's the best conference in the country right now," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "And so, I just thought our guys were very good from start to finish. We asked them for a complete game. From start to finish, and I thought our guys gave it. Credit to our assistant coaches. I thought they got some tactics, and they do a lot of scouts. I thought Coach Reid (Friedrichs), Coach Zach (Carroll), and Coach Barry (Nick Barry) did a great job. So very proud of the guys, just a total team effort."

The Spartans held possession for much of the first 45 minutes. MSU out-shot NU 11-3 in the first half and 18-8 for the game. Senior defender Colin Arce and sophomore midfielder Luke Spadafora had the first two shots of the game.

Despite being in control, the game was still 0-0 after the first 45 minutes of action.

In the 49th minute, Darakjian broke the scoreless tie. The play started deep in the Spartan end with a ball from senior defender Will Eby, who found senior forward Richie Ludwig on the right side. Ludwig sliced the ball right to Darakjian to give MSU the 1-0 lead.

"We had a tough last game, but we bounced back and went over a bunch of stuff. I'm just glad we put it together today. We were a unit and just followed our game plan." Darakjian said. ""I love it. It's honestly a dream to be back with the boys and to score for this team. Being able to help means the world to me."

In the 58th minute, Darakjian was at it again for his fourth goal of the season. His brace was completed with a nearly identical goal to the lower right corner. Senior midfielder Miles Merritt and Arce provided the assists. The transfer, who missed all of last season with an injury, had his first multi-goal game for MSU.

The Michigan State defense took it from there. Junior goalkeeper Jake Grekowicz had three saves and the MSU backline was solid for all 90 minutes, earning its third shutout of the season.

"Super spirited performance, I think the guys were on the front foot from the start. We talked a lot this week about not just responding to that game but putting together a performance for 90 minutes and that's what we did," Eby said. "Absolutely, a lot of communication, that's been stressed by our coaching staff a ton this year and so being able to stay connected as a unit has helped a ton, a lot of help on the week side which is knowing that were playing with each other."

The Spartans are back on the road, facing Penn State on Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.

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.