East Lansing – The Michigan State men’s soccer team will play its final game of the 2022 Big Ten season on Sunday, Oct. 30 against Northwestern. It will be the first game of a doubleheader at DeMartin Stadium as the women’s side play their first Big Ten tournament game shortly after. 

Sunday’s match will be senior day at Old College Field, where seven Spartans will be honored before the game.

The Spartans are 6-7-2 overall on the season and 3-3-1 in Big Ten play, while the Wildcats sit at the bottom of the standings at 2-8-5 and 0-5-2 in the Big Ten. 

MSU is coming off back-to-back road losses against No. 8 Maryland and No. 13 Ohio State. The losses dropped the Spartans to fifth in the Big Ten standings heading into the final weekend of the season. 

“I think first and foremost, we need three points, and we want to get a win. I can’t think of a better way to send our seniors off than with a win,” head coach Damon Rensing said. “These guys have gone through a lot in this group. When you look at covid and the different seasons, and a lot of different things that have gone through the program, I think these guys have come out with their heads high and have done a good job.”

Senior forward Conner George netted the only Spartan goal over the weekend, coming in the 64th minute against Ohio State. A late effort by George nearly tied the game against the Buckeyes, but his header hit the crossbar. 

The Wildcats come off a 1-0 loss to Wisconsin. Earlier in the month, they drew 1-1 against No. 8 Maryland in Evanston. 

“I think it’s just about taking care of business,” senior goalkeeper Owen Finnerty said. “We’ve been very good at home this season and continue to play our game and not letting them come in here and play theirs.”

Kickoff against Northwestern is scheduled for 1 p.m on Sunday.