After a comeback win against Northwestern on Tuesday, Indiana men’s soccer stays on the road, traveling to East Lansing, Michigan, to face Michigan State at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Hoosiers are 42-8-5 all-time against the Spartans, with their most recent win coming in 2020. Two current Hoosiers have goals against the Spartans, both juniors, in forward Victor Bezerra and defender Daniel Munie.
Ahead of the match, here are the need-to-know facts for each team:
Spartans
Michigan State is 4-3-1 and has yet to win a conference game, tying 1-1 in its matchup against Wisconsin on Sept. 17. The team is coming off a 1-0 win against Duquesne University and has scored at least one goal in its last four matches.
Senior forward Farai Mutatu leads the Spartans in goals with five and total points with 11. He also leads in the Big Ten with 24 shots and 11 shots on goal.
Mutatu put up a hat trick against Notre Dame and scored the lone goal against Duquesne to bring Michigan State to victory. Mutatu is on a three-game scoring streak and was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against Notre Dame.
Senior midfielder Jack Beck leads the Big Ten in assists with six total. No other Spartan has more than two.
The Spartans have also used three goalkeepers this season, but senior Hunter Morse has seen the most time on the field. He leads the team in saves with 14 and has allowed seven goals.
Hoosiers
Indiana is 4-2-1 and evened out its conference record with its come from behind win against Northwestern, led by goals from freshman forward Samuel Sarver and junior forward Herbert Endeley.
The Hoosiers have struggled to put the pieces together in previous games, with both offense and defense seeming to lack communication at some points. They have already allowed nine goals this season after only allowing six total in the 2020-21 season.In their most recent match, the team appeared to be a cohesive unit with more energy than some previous matches.
Sarver is a driving force behind that energy, consistently leading offensive charges downfield to speed up the game and give the team more momentum. Sarver came off the bench against Northwestern and scored a goal within two minutes of the second half.
Sarver has recorded two goals in three shots on goal this season. Freshman forward Tommy Mihalic leads the team with 17 shots.
Junior defender Daniel Munie was a key part in Sarver’s goal, assisting with a long pass downfield. Munie was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago and leads Indiana with five points.
The Matchup
The Spartans have been aggressive offensively, putting up 94 shots and 32 shots on goal. The Hoosier backline has struggled to communicate and defend effectively against pressing offense, which could provide more chances for Mutatu and the Spartans.
Indiana has 69 shots and 29 shots on goal and has shown difficulties in controlling the ball enough to provide opportunities for the offense.
But Michigan State has allowed 16 goals this season. With Bezerra and Munie having goals against Michigan State and Sarver’s dynamic runs, Indiana’s offense has the parts to create goal-scoring opportunities.
After facing Michigan State, Indiana will return to Bloomington for four home matches in a row.
