EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State men’s soccer will open the 2024 season, traveling to No. 25 SIUE on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET at Ralph Korte Stadium. This is the earliest start to the season for the Spartans. This is the first time that the teams have met since 2019 when the two squad battled to a 0-0 tie in East Lansing.
The Spartans ended the 2023 season with a 7-2-7 record and a 3-1-4 mark in Big Ten action. Michigan State broke the school record with seven ties.
LOOKING AT THE COUGARS
The series between the Spartans and the Cougars is tied 2-2-2. The last time the teams met was in 2019 in East Lansing ending in a 0-0 draw. The 2019 matchup was the first season for Cale Wassermann, who was an assistant coach under head coach Damon Rensing for four seasons.
SIUE was picked to finish first in the Ohio Valley Conference after an historic 2023 season. Last season, the Cougars went 16-1-3 in 2023, including going 9-0-1 in OVC play. SIUE’s only loss came against Memphis on the road in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
SERIES HISTORY
The series history is limited between the two teams meeting only six times. MSU is 0-1-2 in East Lansing, while standing 1-1 in Edwardsville. The Spartans hold the slight 1-0 advantage on neutral ground with a 4-0 win in Boca Raton, Florida in 1995. In 2016, the teams met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, battling to a 1-1 tie with the Cougars advancing on penalty kicks, 9-8.
PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State men’s soccer team had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
Juniors Jeremy Sharp, Jake Spadafora and Jonathan Stout were all honored by the league.
The Big Ten preseason poll was also released Tuesday, as voted on by the 11 conference coaches. This is first season the league has expanded to 11 teams with the addition of UCLA and Washington. MSU was voted to pick fifth, while Indiana was once again picked to win the league. Penn State was voted second, while newcomer UCLA was picked third.
Sharp, who hails from Roseville, Michigan, earned a spot on the B1G Player to Watch list for the first time in his career. Last season, the defender earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, playing in all 15 games. Sharp ended the…
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