Michigan
Northwestern
Men's Soccer Opens Spring Season With Northwestern, Michigan State
2/16/2021 10:30:00 AM | Men's Soccer
» The first two matches of Michigan's 10-match, conference-only slate begin this week: at Northwestern on Friday (Feb. 19) and vs. Michigan State on Tuesday (Feb. 22).
» The Wolverines are coming off three consecutive seasons with at least 11 victories, reaching the NCAA Tournament each season.
» Eight student-athletes return who started at least 10 matches in 2019, headlined by senior captains Umar Farouk Osman, Jackson Ragen and Marc Ybarra.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 19 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 7 p.m. CST
TV: Big Ten Network+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Tuesday, Feb. 23 -- vs. Michigan State (Brighton, Mich.), 7 p.m.
Live Stats
• Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The University of Michigan men's soccer team returns to the field for the first time in more than a year, opening its 2021 spring season on the road on Friday (Feb. 19) at Northwestern. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. CST at Ryan Fieldhouse.
The Wolverines then will host Michigan State next Tuesday (Feb. 22) at the Legacy Center Sports Complex in Brighton, Mich., in the first of two matchups this season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
In accordance with Big Ten policy, all events are currently closed to the public.
Team Notes
• The Wolverines will play a 10-match, conference-only schedule this spring. The schedule includes home-and-home series with Michigan State and Ohio State, as well as home matches against Penn State, Maryland and Indiana.
• Michigan went 11-5-6 in 2019, reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years. It was the program's third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and third consecutive season with at least 11 victories.
• The Michigan defense has been superb since the start of the 2018 season. In the last two years, the defense has allowed only 36 goals in 43 matches (18 in each year, a program record for fewest goals allowed in a season) while securing 19 clean sheets over that same span.
• Two key cogs to that defensive effort are seniors Jackson Ragen and Joel Harrison, each of whom were selected in last month's MLS SuperDraft. Ragen went 33rd overall to the Chicago Fire, while Harrison was picked 53rd overall by his hometown Vancouver Whitecaps. [ Release ]
• In addition, Jackson Ragen was one of the 35 student-athletes named to the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, the award given annually to the top player in NCAA D-I soccer. [ Awards and Honors ]
• Michigan returns eight student-athletes who started at least 10 matches last year: Marc Ybarra (22), Jackson Ragen (21), Umar Farouk Osman (19), Joel Harrison (18), Austin Swiech (18), Kevin Buca (13), Carlos Tellez (12) and Derick Broche (11).
• The Wolverines will have some new faces leading the attack this year. Gone are Jack Hallahan and Nebosja Popovic, the Big Ten Offensive Players of the Year in 2018 and 2019, respectively, who combined for 15 goals and 10 assists last year. Junior Derick Broche will factor in after tallying 17 points last season (7G, 3A), while bigger roles are expected for sophomores Christian Pulselli (1G, 3A) and Evan Rasmussen (DNP in 2019).
• With the graduation of Andrew Verdi, the 2019 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, there will be a new man in between the goalposts. Sophomore Owen Finnerty started the last seven matches of the 2019 season after Verdi went down with an injury, conceding only six goals in 684 minutes, three of which came in the Wolverines' Sweet 16 loss to Wake Forest. He made 15 saves and had three clean sheets. Senior Jacob Nunner and freshmen Ethan Wood and Jamis Fite are also competing for the job.
• There are nine newcomers on the 2020-21 roster. The class includes freshmen Bryce Blevins (Plainfield, Ill.), Jamis Fite (West Hartford, Conn.), Jens Hoff (Drammen, Norway), Daniel Massey (Sparta, N.J.), Quin Rogers (San Jose, Calif.), Bode Saul (Los Gatos, Calif.), Simon Vasquez (Weston, Fla.) and Ethan Wood (Syosset, N.Y.). Junior Cameron Martin is also with the squad, transferring in after two years at the University of San Francisco. Sophomore Inaki Rodriguez, while not technically a newcomer, is expected to have a more significant role returning from an injury that limited him to just 58 minutes as a freshman.
Opponent Preview
Northwestern: The Wildcats went 8-8-2 in 2019 (3-3-2 in the Big Ten). They were +1 on goal differential (23 goals for, 22 goals against), averaging 8.6 shots per game. Bardia Kimiavi is the Wildcats' top returning scorer, tallying 10 points in 2019 (four goals, two assists). Miha Miskovic is back in net after starting 15 matches, posting a .697 save percentage and a 1.34 goals-against average.
Series: Michigan is 15-8-2 all-time against Northwestern. The Wolverines won the last matchup, 3-0, in Ann Arbor (Oct. 6, 2019).
Michiagn State: The Spartans went 3-12-3 in 2019 (3-4-1 in the Big Ten). They were -10 on goal differential (13 goals for, 23 goals against), averaging 10.8 shots per game. Michael Miller, Farai Mutatu, Alex Shterenberg and Gianni Ferri each scored two goals in 2019. Hunter Morse is back in goal after starting all 18 matches, posting a .765 save percentage and a 1.24 goals-against average.
Series: Michigan is 9-14-2 all-time against Michigan State. The two teams met twice in 2019; Michigan recaptured the Big Bear Trophy in a 2-0 win on Oct. 29 and later eliminated the Spartans from the Big Ten Tournament with a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals on Nov. 10.
Up Next
Wednesday, March 3 -- vs. Penn State (Brighton, Mich.), 11 a.m.
Sunday, March 7 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), TBA
