Nicholas Rewey
After drawing against the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Bear trophy game, the 19th-ranked Michigan State men’s soccer team returned to the pitch to face off against the Maryland Terrapins on Alumni Appreciation Day at DeMartin Stadium. The Spartans came into this matchup as one of the six undefeated teams in the country, and the only undefeated team in the Big Ten. The Spartans would rally from a 2-0 deficit, walking away with a draw and remaining undefeated on the season.
The Terps came out fast, netting a goal in the second minute of play. Senior defender Kento Abe set up freshman forward Luke Van Heukelum perfectly for the opening goal.
Maryland would strike again to make it 2-0 in the 16th minute with a goal from sophomore forward Max Riley, the assist coming from freshman forward Kimani Stewart-Baynes. The Spartans would have many opportunities to score in the first half, getting many good looks, but would head into the halftime locker room trailing 2-0.
The Terrapins would end the first half with seven shots and three shots on goal, with the Spartans having six shots in the first half and one shot on goal. Elijah Howe and Sean Kerrigan would lead the Spartans in the first with 2 shots each.
In the second half, the Spartans would get on the board in the 58th minute with sophomore forward Jake Spadafora scoring his third goal of the season off a beautiful assist from senior midfielder Jack Zugay.
In the 77th minute, Jonathan Stout found the bottom left of the net to tie the game at 2-2 with Jeremy Sharp crossing a perfect ball for the assist. This was Stout’s 2nd goal of the season for the Spartans.
The Spartans would threaten to break the tie in the final 13 minutes of the game; however, the Terps and Spartans would draw in a hard-fought game by both teams. Jake Spadafora and Jonathan Stout would lead the Spartans with Spadafora scoring one goal and recording four shots, while Stout had a goal with two shots. Sean Kerrigan would also contribute with three shots.
With the draw, the Spartans are now in a three-way tie for first place at 10 points with Northwestern and Penn State.
The Spartans will travel to Evanston, Illinois on Friday to take on the Northwestern Wildcats in a battle of first-place teams, before returning home for their final two home games of the regular season against Ohio State on Oct. 24 and Drake on Oct. 27.