Northwestern Drops 2-0 Decision At No. 19 Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. (September 15, 2026) – Two second-half goals from Andrew Darakdjian were the difference as Northwestern (3-3-1, 1-1 B1G) fell to No. 19 Michigan State (5-1-1, 1-0 B1G) by a final count of 2-0 this evening at DeMartin Stadium in East Lansing, Mich.

How It Happened
After an opening 10 minutes that saw chances come at a premium on both ends, Peter Riesz notched the Wildcats’ first attempt of the night, firing wide of goal from distance in the 12^th minute.

Fresh off being named the Big Ten Conference’s Goalkeeper of the Week earlier in the day, Dominic Pereira made his first of three saves in the opening 45 minutes just past the quarter-hour mark, diving to collect Darakdjian’s rolling effort.  Leo Conneh had designs for the night’s opening goal in the stanza’s closing minutes, but Pereira came up big again, getting a hand on the Spartan forward’s attempt to send the game to halftime scoreless.

Pereira went back to work coming out of the intermission, parrying away Darakdjian’s rocket in the 47^th minute.  Michigan State would cash in two minutes later, with Darakdjian slotting home at the near post to stake the Spartans to a 1-0 edge.

Andrew Johnson took aim at an equalizer with a left-footed volley in the minutes following Michigan State’s opener, forcing a save out of Spartan goalkeeper Jake Grekowicz.  Darakdjian would strike again shortly after, sending his shot through traffic to double the hosts’ advantage, 2-0, ahead of the hour mark.

With time beginning to tick away, Northwestern pushed forward in search of a route back into the game.  Tyler Glassberg teed up a one-time effort in the 79^th minute that looked headed for goal, but was blocked en route.  Tre Barrett looked to pull one back four minutes later, sending his shot from the edge of the 18-yard box high of goal, as Michigan State ultimately closed out a 2-0 victory.

Looking At The Numbers
- Pereira finished his night with six saves, tying a career high in the category.
- Johnson and Barrett paced Northwestern in the final third, each tallying a pair of shots.
- In addition to Johnson and Barrett, Italo Addimandi registered an attempt on target for the ‘Cats.

Up Next
Northwestern concludes the non-conference portion of its 2026 schedule on Saturday, September 19, battling UIC on Chicago’s West Side in a 7 p.m. CT kickoff at Flames Field.