# 2018 Michigan State Spartans men's soccer team

The 2018 Michigan State Spartans men's soccer team represented Michigan State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The program was coached by 10th year head coach, Damon Rensing. It was the 63rd season the university fielded a men's varsity soccer team, and their 28th season in the Big Ten Conference.
The season was highlighted by Michigan State reaching the College Cup (final four) of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, a feat they had not accomplished since 1968. There, making their first appearance in half a century, they lost to eventual national-runners up, Akron, 5–1.
Three players from this team were drafted in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft: DeJuan Jones, Ryan Sierakowski, and Jimmy Hague.

## Roster

The following players were part of the 2018 Michigan State men's soccer team.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Jimmy Hague |
| 2 | MF | USA | Jack Beck |
| 3 | DF | DEN | Patrick Nielsen |
| 4 | DF | USA | Nick Woodruff |
| 5 | MF | USA | Michael Pimlott |
| 6 | FW | USA | DeJuan Jones |
| 7 | FW | USA | Hunter Barone |
| 8 | MF | USA | Alex Shterenberg |
| 9 | FW | KEN | Farai Mutatu |
| 10 | MF | USA | Giuseppe Barone |
| 11 | FW | USA | Ryan Sierakowski |
| 13 | FW | USA | Robbie Cort |
| 14 | DF | NGA | Olu Ogunwale |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | USA | Colton Stanley |
| 16 | DF | USA | Connor Corrigan |
| 17 | DF | KEN | Michael Wetungu |
| 18 | MF | USA | Michael Miller |
| 20 | MF | USA | Cody Sweatte |
| 21 | FW | SUI | Julian Ajroja |
| 25 | MF | USA | |
| 26 | MF | USA | |
| 27 | FW | USA | Connor Wineman |
| 28 | MF | USA | |
| 34 | MF | USA | |
| 35 | MF | USA | |
| 36 | MF | USA | |

## Schedule

| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Team events | Opponent events | Site City, State |
| Preseason ||||||||
| August 10* 2:00 pm | No. 7 | Spring Arbor | W 2–0 | | | | DeMartin Stadium East Lansing, MI |
| August 13* 1:00 pm | No. 7 | No. 14 Western Michigan | T 1–1 | | | | DeMartin Stadium East Lansing, MI |
| August 17* 6:00 pm | No. 7 | vs. Xavier | T 0–0 | | | | Hefner Soccer Complex Fort Wayne, IN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||||
| August 24* 7:00 pm | No. 7 | South Florida | W 1–0 | 1–0–0 | Mutatu 87' | Flangan 43' Ycaza 71' | DeMartin Stadium (2,048) East Lansing, MI |
| August 26* 1:00 pm | No. 7 | Tulsa | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 1–0–1 | G. Barone 84' Pimlott 110' | Partain 79' Vargas 96' Gerteisen 106' | DeMartin Stadium (652) East Lansing, MI |
| August 31* 3:00 pm | No. 5 | Canisius | W 3–2 | 2–0–1 | Jones 7' Woodruff 40' H. Barone 59' Freitag 90' | Cavazzoli 40' Walsh 42' Tamburini 76' Preci 80' | DeMartin Stadium (460) East Lansing, MI |
| September 3* 1:00 pm | No. 5 | UC Riverside | W 5–1 | 3–0–1 | Sierakowski 21' H. Barone 58' Cort 65' Freitag 66' G. Barone 72' Beck 81' | Sanchez 54' Benito 77' Aguirre 86' | DeMartin Stadium (611) East Lansing, MI |
| September 7* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | at Bowling Green | W 3–0 | 4–0–1 | Sierakowski 53' Jones 81', 88' | | Cochrane Stadium (826) Bowling Green, OH |
| September 10* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | No. 3 | Oakland | W 4–2 | 5–0–1 | | | DeMartin Stadium (1,106) East Lansing, MI |
| September 14* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 4 | at Yale | T 2–2 $^{2OT}$ | 5–0–2 | | | Reese Stadium (1,014) New Haven, CT |
| September 17* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | No. 4 | at No. 8 Notre Dame Rivalry | W 1–0 | 6–0–2 | | | Alumni Stadium (718) South Bend, IN |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||||
| September 21 7:00 pm, BTN+ | No. 5 | Rutgers | W 2–1 | 7–0–2 (1–0–0) | | | DeMartin Stadium (1,303) East Lansing, MI |
| September 26 6:00 pm, BTN+ | No. 5 | at Penn State | W 2–1 | 8–0–2 (2–0–0) | | | Jeffrey Field (552) State College, PA |
| September 30 2:00 pm, BTN | No. 5 | Wisconsin | L 0–1 $^{OT}$ | 8–1–2 (2–1–0) | | | DeMartin Stadium (1,028) East Lansing, MI |
| October 5 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 5 | at Maryland | W 2–0 | 9–1–2 (3–1–0) | | | Ludwig Field (3,145) College Park, MD |
| October 9* 7:05 pm, BTN | No. 8 | No. 19 Akron | L 1–2 | 9–2–2 | | | DeMartin Stadium (1,017) East Lansing, MI |
| October 12 7:00 pm | No. 13 | at Ohio State | W 2–1 | 10–2–2 (4–1–0) | | | Jesse Owens Stadium (543) Columbus, OH |
| October 19 7:05 pm, BTN | No. 13 | Northwestern | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 10–2–3 (4–1–1) | | | DeMartin Stadium (1,508) East Lansing, MI |
| October 23 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | No. 18 Michigan Big Bear Trophy | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 10–2–4 (4–1–2) | | | DeMartin Stadium (2,139) East Lansing, MI |
| October 28 4:05 pm, ESPNU | No. 12 | at No. 2 Indiana | L 0–1 $^{OT}$ | 10–3–4 (4–2–2) | | | Bill Armstrong Stadium (2,454) Bloomington, IN |
| Big Ten Tournament ||||||||
| November 4 1:05 pm, BTN+ | (4) No. 17 | (5) No. 23 Maryland | L 0–1 $^{OT}$ | 10–4–4 | | | DeMartin Stadium (638) East Lansing, MI |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||||
| November 15* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 25 | UIC First round | W 2–0 | 11–4–4 | | | DeMartin Stadium (332) East Lansing, MI |
| November 18* 5:00 pm, ACCN | No. 25 | at (4) No. 4 Louisville Second round | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 12–4–4 | | | Lynn Stadium (1,491) Louisville, KY |
| November 25* 1:00 pm | No. 7 | at (13) No. 13 Georgetown Sweet Sixteen | W 1–0 | 13–4–4 | | | Cooper Field (1,855) Washington, DC |
| December 1* 5:00 pm | No. 7 | No. 8 James Madison Elite Eight | W 2–1 | 14–4–4 | | | DeMartin Stadium (1,758) East Lansing, MI |
| December 7* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 4 | vs. No. 2 Akron College Cup | L 1–5 | 14–5–4 | | | Harder Stadium (1,758) Santa Barbara, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||||

## Honors

| Date | Player | Honor |
| August 28 | Jimmy Hague | Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week |
| September 11 | DeJuan Jones | Big Ten Player of the Week |
| September 25 | Ryan Sierakowski | Big Ten Player of the Week |
| October 9 | Patrick Nielsen | Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week |
| November 2 | Giuseppe Barone | Big Ten Midfielder of the Year |
| November 2 | Giuseppe Barone | All-Big Ten First Team |
| November 2 | Giuseppe Barone | All-Big Ten First Team |
| November 2 | Patrick Nielsen | All-Big Ten First Team |
| November 2 | DeJuan Jones | All-Big Ten Second Team |
| November 2 | Jimmy Hague | All-Big Ten Second Team |
| November 2 | Ryan Sierakowski | All-Big Ten Second Team |
| November 2 | Jack Beck | All-Big Ten Rookie Team |
| November 2 | Farai Mutatu | All-Big Ten Rookie Team |
| November 2 | Connor Corrigan | Big Ten Sportsmanship Award |
| November 11 | Connor Corrigan | All-Big Ten Tournament Team |

## Players selected in the 2019 MLS Draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Club |
| DeJuan Jones | MF | 1 | 11 | New England Revolution |
| Ryan Sierakowski | FW | 1 | 23 | Portland Timbers |
| Jimmy Hague | GK | 2 | 30 | FC Cincinnati |