EAST LANSING — The Michigan State men’s soccer team will travel to Columbus to face off against Ohio State for the final road game of the season. The Spartans come off of a 1-0 loss to No. 8 Maryland in College Park, where the Spartans went the entire game without regestering a single shot on goal.

The Spartans have a  6-6-2 record on the season and a 3-2-1 record in Big Ten play, leaving them in fifth place in the standings. 

“Our goal every year is to put ourselves in a position to challenge for the Big Ten title,” head coach Damon Rensing said. “We control our own destiny.”

MSU has been led by junior forward Greyson Mercer who has four goals for the Spartans this season. Freshman forward Jonathan Stout and senior captain Will Perkins have been impactful for the Spartans with three goals a piece. 

MSU will need strong performances from Mercer, Stout and Perkins to jump back into second place. Indiana is behind first-place Maryland with 12 points.  

“This is a resilient group and we’re starting to find our stride,” Rensing said. “We’ve been tested a lot, and I think those tests- whether we’ve been successful or not in them- have made this group tougher and stronger.”

Ohio State comes into this matchup with a 8-1-5 overall record. The Buckeyes’ three-game winning streak was snapped on Friday after they drew 1-1 with Penn State. 

The Buckeyes are led by senior midfielder Xavier Green. Green has scored three goals this season and is sixth in the conference for shots (29).

“We’re prepared as we can be for these last three games,” Rensing said.

The Spartans will return to East Lansing for their final game of the regular season against the Northwestern Wildcats next Sunday before the Big Ten Tournament starts on Nov. 4th, where the Spartans hope to earn a top-four seed to earn a home tournament game.    

Kickoff against Ohio State is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Columbus.