Michigan State's Will Eby celebrates after the Spartans beat Indiana on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at DeMartin Stadium in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MSU Men's Soccer Upsets Top-5 Opponent

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Michigan State men's soccer team picked up one of its biggest wins in a good bit on Tuesday night, as the Spartans upset No. 3 Indiana in a 1-0 match at DeMartin Stadium in East Lansing.

IU had entered Tuesday with a 6-1-1 record and the highest ranking among members in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers' only loss came against Michigan, which currently sits at No. 5 in the rankings. Indiana's loss to Michigan State is also the first time that the Hoosiers have failed to score a goal in any match this season.

The first and only goal of the game for MSU came from the right foot of Peter Soudan, a true freshman midfielder, with a little less than 42 minutes to go in the match. It was his third goal of the season.

Peter Soudan puts @MSU_MSoccer up 1-0

: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/aHNbNeROGF
— Big Ten Soccer (@B1GSoccer) September 23, 2025

The other end of the victory is the clean sheet for Spartan goalkeeper Zac Kelly, who saved all five shots on goal that he faced. It is his 15th career shutout for last year's Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year.

Overall, it ends up being Michigan State's highest-ranked victory since the Spartans beat No. 2... Indiana back on Nov. 5, 2014, on the road by a 3-2 score.

MSU Men's Soccer Season

Things had been a little tough for the team entering Tuesday's contest, so the upset victory could have a rippling effect on the rest of the season.

Michigan State's victory over IU improved the Spartans to 4-4-0 on the season and 1-2-0 in Big Ten competition. MSU's last two matches were those two losses in conference play: a 2-1 loss on the road at Washington and a 3-2 defeat at home versus Ohio State. Both the Huskies and the Buckeyes are currently outside the top 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.

MSU's three other wins this season had also all come against unranked opponents. The Spartans opened the year with a 2-0 win over UC Riverside and also have picked up victories against Detroit Mercy (1-0) and Oakland (3-2).

The program is currently in the middle of head coach Damon Rensing's 17th season at the helm. He led the Spartans to eight NCAA Tournament appearances in his first 10 years, but Michigan State hasn't reached that portion of the postseason since 2018, when it reached the NCAA Semifinals.