No. 20 MSU Travels to No. 21 Northwestern for B1G Road Finale

EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 20 Michigan State men’s soccer hits the road for its regular-season road finale against No. 21 Northwestern in Evanston on Friday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. ET.

MSU remains unbeaten with a 6-0-6 overall record. Last time out, the Spartans came-from-behind to tie Maryland 2-2 on Oct. 15. The Spartans are currently 2-0-4 in league action. Northwestern stands 9-1-3 overall and 3-1-1 in league play. The Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season against Penn State, 2-1, on Oct. 13.

Matthew Placzek and Logan Schiciano will be on the call for BTN Plus.

CROWDED AT THE TOP

As the Big Ten season comes to close, the battle for the B1G Championship has heated up. After Penn State’s loss to Rutgers on Oct. 17, four teams are tied at the top of the table with 10 points. Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State and now Rutgers are all atop the table. The Spartans have two league games remaining against Northwestern (10/20) and Ohio State (10/24).

LOOKING AT THE WILDCATS

Michigan State holds the overall series with Northwestern 33-10-5, including being on top on the road 10-7-3. The Wildcats have captured the last two meetings, winning in East Lansing on Senior Day last season 2-1 on Oct. 30. The deciding goal came on a penalty kick in the 81st minute. MSU’s last win in the series was a 2-0 victory in the COVID-19 shortened season at home, 2-0.

Northwestern is one of four teams with 10 points in the Big Ten standings along with Michigan State, Rutgers and Penn State. Overall, the Wildcats are 9-1-3 with their only loss coming against PSU. In league contests, NU is 3-1-1.

The high-powered Northwestern offense is first in the league in points scored with 25 goals and 26 assists for 76 points. Justin Weiss is tied for first in goals scored with seven and first in assists with seven. Goalkeeper Jackson Weyman is fourth in GAA (1.00).

 

ONLY FIVE REMAIN

Michigan State is one of only five remaining unbeaten teams in the nation, after previously undefeated No. 1 Marshall lost to West Virginia on Oct. 18. The Mountaineers are now 10-0-4 this season. SIU Edwardsville, which is coached by former MSU assistant coach Cale Wasserman is also unbeaten with a 10-0-3 mark. Saint Francis (PA) is also undefeated with a 4-0-6 mark.

FABULOUS…