EAST LANSING- In their only action from this past week, the Michigan State men’s soccer team hit the road for their second consecutive game and pulled off a miraculous 1-0 upset over No. 15 UCLA, improving their record to 2-1 in conference play.
In the wake of MSU’s third victory of the season, it was announced that three Spartans were awarded Big Ten “Player of the Week” honors.
Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout netted the game-winning strike in Friday’s road victory, extending his goal tally on the season to four, contributing to Stout being crowned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
The Offensive Player of the Week Honors was Michigan State’s first of its caliber since Sept. 21, 2021, when Farai Mutatu accomplished the feat.
The Wyoming, Michigan native leads Michigan State with four goals and nine points on the season, both of which rank among the top ten in the Big Ten.
Stout’s game-winner was his second in the last three games for Michigan State, as the junior found the back of the net in a 1-0 Spartan victory over Washington on Sept. 13.
The Offensive Player of the Week honors was Stout’s first of his career as the most staggering player on the offensive end for MSU.
The honors did not stop there, as defender Brandon Munson racked up his first player of the week honors of his young career in green and white, with this one coming by virtue of defensive contributions.
Munson played all 90 minutes at UCLA and kept the UCLA offense gridlocked despite rattling off 16 shots. The freshman phenom continued his defensive dominance two weeks after his masterful bicycle-kick save to prevent a goal and keep MSU on top against Washington, a play that was atop SportsCenter’s top 10 plays.
In the first-ever season in which the Big Ten distributed individual freshman awards, Munson was the first Spartan to be crowned Big Ten Freshman of the Week as his rapid ascension continued in his freshman season.
While Munson was awarded for his contributions to holding UCLA scoreless, redshirt junior goalie Zac Kelly was as well. Kelly was named Big Ten goalkeeper of the week for the first time in his career after being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice last season.
Kelly, a Holt native, tied his season-high by tallying four saves in the triumph over the Bruins and attaining his third clean sheet of the 2024 season. With his 28 saves on the season third among all goalies in the conference, the keeper has been a critical part of Michigan State’s recent successes.
Michigan State returned home on Tuesday night to face Northwestern, and will later head to College Park to take on the Terrapins on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
