While there were only a few midweek games, there was movement at the top of the conference standings with Indiana and Rutgers each picking up big road victories. This weekend, there will be more clarity at the top when two of the conference’s top four meet in East Lansing.
Hoosiers Handle Buckeyes in Bounce-Back Performance
After suffering its first loss of the season against Rutgers, No. 4 Indiana got right back into the win column on Tuesday night with a road win over Ohio State. In a defensive affair, Easton Bogard’s 41st minute header into the bottom right corner served as the difference.
Goalkeeper Michal Mroz was tested by the Buckeye offense, having to make four saves to record his conference-high sixth shutout of the season; his 0.57 goals against average also leads the Big Ten. Hear from the Hoosiers.
With the win, Indiana moved back to the top of the Big Ten standings, where it is tied with Michigan State with identical 5-1-1 records and 16 points.
One point behind the Hoosiers and Spartans is Rutgers, who picked up three points of its own on Tuesday night with a 5-0 win over Penn State. The Scarlet Knights scored two goals in the opening seven minutes courtesy of Dan Karsten and Francesco Di Ponzio — who scored the game-winner in the upset win over Indiana last Friday — en route to 11 shots on target and a season-high five goals.
With the win, Rutgers moved into third place for the moment. Depending on how other games go, the Scarlet Knights could find themselves sitting in first by the end of the weekend.
Title Implications: No. 7 Huskies Visit No. 6 Spartans
The conference title race shifts to East Lansing on Friday night, as No. 7 Washington travels to DeMartin Stadium to take on No. 6 Michigan State (7 p.m. ET on B1G+). The Spartans are tied for first place in the conference with 16 points, and three points behind them with one less game played are the Huskies (4-1-1).
Washington’s lone conference defeat came against Indiana, but a win over the Spartans would pull the Huskies into a tie with Michigan State (and possibly first place too). A Michigan State win would ensure it remains in first place regardless of what the co-leading Hoosiers do Friday night against Northwestern (7 p.m. ET on B1G+).
Chances will be plentiful when these two powerhouse attacks meet. Washington leads the Big Ten with 35 goals, while Michigan State ranks fifth with 29. The spotlight features a marquee battle between Huskies forward Zach Ramsey — who leads the nation with 16 goals — and Spartans dynamic attacker Andrew Darakdjian, who is tied for third in the conference with 15 points. But neither attack is a one-man show: Washington’s Alex Hall and Osato Enabulele, along with Michigan State’s Leo Conneh and Richie Ludwig, give both squads endless depth and playmaking power.
With two elite attacks trading punches, the burden falls on two lockdown backlines to stem the tide. Washington goalkeeper Stockton Short and the Huskies’ defense have surrendered just two goals all month, having not allowed multiple goals in a single match since Sept. 11. Michigan State has been equally stingy at DeMartin Stadium, conceding more than one goal at home just once all year back in the season opener on Aug. 20.
With elite production on both sides of the pitch and crucial conference points on the line, Friday's battle in East Lansing has all the makings of an instant October classic. Whether it's a high-scoring shootout or a defensive duel, whichever side comes out on top will take a step toward claiming the Big Ten crown.
Huskies-Spartans gets the weekend action started, and four more games will impact the standings, including the first-place Hoosiers hosting Northwestern and Rutgers facing Michigan. Check out the full schedule here.