Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
#13 Michigan State
'Cats travel to No. 13 Michigan State for Friday night showdown
10/18/2018 4:22:00 PM | Men's Soccer
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern will head on the road for the final time this regular season as the Wildcats travel to East Lansing on Friday night to take on No. 13 Michigan State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.
Friday's game marks the last of three-straight road matchups for Chicago's Big Ten Team, who enters the contest 4-7-4 after back-to-back road setbacks. On Tuesday at UIC, Ty Seager struck first in the fifth minute to give the #B1GCats an early lead, however NU was unable to regain the momentum in the second half after allowing three goals.
Michigan State is 10-2-2 on the season and currently sits second in the Big Ten standings with a 4-1 record. The Spartans host the Wildcats one week after a 2-1 victory at Ohio State.
The Wildcats are 1-3-1 in their last five matchups against the Spartans and are 1-1-1 in their last three trips to East Lansing dating back to 2012. Northwestern's last win against Michigan State came in 2015, a 1-0 victory at Toyota Park.
Sophomore keeper Miha Miskovic currently ranks first in the conference and sixth in the country with seven shutouts on the season, already tied for fifth in program history and the most by a 'Cats keeper since Tyler Miller had eight in 2014. Miskovic also leads the Big Ten with 55 total saves this season. As a team, Northwestern ranks second in the conference with 4.00 saves per game and has allowed just one first half goal in their last five matches.
Senior midfielder Camden Buescher leads the team with three goals, tied for 10th-most in the Big Ten. Buescher is also one of five NU players this season to score multiple goals, a feat most recently accomplished by Seager with his first half goal at UIC on Tuesday.
The Wildcats have a pair of first years on TopDrawerSoccer.com's midseason Freshmen Top-100 list. Richie Bennett checked in at No. 42, while Bardia Kimiavi was listed at No. 91. Bennett has made 14 starts in his rookie campaign and has tallied one assist. Kimiavi is tied for fourth on the club in points with a pair of goals.
Friday's game marks the penultimate Big Ten matchup for Northwestern. Chicago's Big Ten team will return to Evanston for its final two games of the regular season next week.
