EAST LANSING – After a draw against Rutgers last week, No. 18/22 Michigan State men’s soccer earned a 2 -1 victory over Indiana, while snapping a losing streak with the Hoosiers that had been running since 2014.
The scoring for the Spartans opened up early, as freshman forward Richie Ludwig netted his first goal of the season in the 14th minute, on an assist from sophomore midfielder Cristiano Bruletti. Ludwig is the eighth different player for Michigan State to score this season.
“Scoring that goal was a perfect ball from Christiano, just happened to take a good touch and finish it,” said Ludwig after the game. “Everybody shares the wealth and we just play for one another.”
The lead would not hold for much longer, as Indiana forward Samuel Sarver became his team’s leading scorer towards the end of the 19th minute, marking three goals on the season for him.
The Hoosiers continued to press the ball towards the end of the half but MSU goalkeeper Zac Kelly made some crucial saves, resulting in the score being knotted at 1-1 going into the locker room. Kelly finished the match with five saves.
Coming out of the half, Michigan State became the aggressor and had some valuable chances early on, but came up empty. The pressure on the Hoosier defense eventually came up big, as the Spartans were able to draw a penalty in the box around the 76th minute mark. Junior Sean Kerrigan stepped up once again in a penalty kick situation and buried the ball in the top right corner for the eventual game winning goal. Kerrigan also recorded his third goal of the season, making him MSU’s top scorer.
While Indiana made some final pushes down the stretch in desperation mode, the Michigan State defensive block held strong as the team recorded its first Big Ten win of the season.
The @MSU_MSoccer pulled out a 2-1 win over Indiana. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/exlvOprM5X
— Big Ten Soccer (@B1GSoccer) September 23, 2023
“We’re defending really well as a group,” said Michigan State head coach Damon Rensing. “This is a really fun group to get behind, they’re a fun team to watch, and I think we’re just gonna keep doing what we’re doing.”
Michigan State is now 5-0-2 on the season, and 1-0-1 in Big Ten play.
With Oakland coming to town next, Rensing also expects the crowds to make a return. “This crowd, almost three thousand fans, the Red Cedar Rowdies, we need them out on Tuesday night against Oakland,” said Rensing.
The Spartans’ next match will take place against Oakland on Tuesday, Sept. 26th at DeMartin Stadium. Kickoff is expected to be at 7 p.m. EST.
