Heading into Wednesday’s regular-season finale, the Big Ten Men's Soccer landscape has made one thing clear this weekend: the fight at the summit is down to the wire, and no ranked team is safe when Rutgers takes the pitch.
Rutgers Shock Spartans in East Lansing
In its final game of the regular season, Rutgers did what it’s become known for this year, defeating a top-15 opponent for the fifth time in a 4-1 win over No. 8 Michigan State in East Lansing.
The Scarlet Knights, who entered the weekend just one point behind the three-way tie for first, struck first only 18 minutes in when Amer Lukovic rocketed a shot into the top left corner from inside the box. In the 41st minute, that lead was doubled when Zach Mastrodimos drilled his shot from outside the box into the left corner as Rutgers took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
While Michigan State cut the lead in half less than two minutes into the second, Rutgers added insurance in the 60th minute off an Erick Ruiz header, this one going in the top right corner. Lukovic got his second of the game in the 74th minute as the Scarlet Knights handed the Spartans their first home loss of the season. Read more.
With the win, Rutgers not only clinched a spot in the 2026 Big Ten Tournament, but moved up to third in the conference standings. Which gets us to the two teams ahead of them...
Hoosiers, Huskies Tied at the Top Heading into Wednesday's Finale
The Big Ten regular season title will officially be decided on the final day, with No. 4 Indiana and No. 7 Washington’s victories tying them at the top with 20 points after Friday night victories.
First in Seattle, the Huskies topped No. 11 Maryland 2-1. It was none other than the nation’s leading scorer in Zach Ramsey to open the account, tallying his 18th of the season in the 31st minute. He is now tied for the second most goals in a single season in Husky history.
After taking the 1-0 lead into the half, another Jake Goetting screamer in the 58th minute doubled the lead. While Rodrigo Neri’s eighth of the season got the Terps on the board, Stockton Short’s season-high seven saves kept the score at 2-1 for the huge win.
Later that night down the coast, Indiana delivered a response with a 3-1 victory over No. 22 UCLA. First-half strikes from Charlie Heuer and Oliver Moller-Jensen staked the Hoosiers to a halftime lead. UCLA pulled one back through Adrian Aguilar’s first goal of the season, but Indiana's star attacker slammed the door shut: Moller-Jensen chipped the Bruins goalkeeper for his team-leading 12th goal of the year, sealing a critical three points for IU.
Heading into Wednesday, Washington and Indiana are deadlocked at the top with the Big Ten title up for grabs. If one team earns more points than the other on Wednesday, they’ll be the outright Big Ten Champion. Should both teams finish tied on points, they would each clinch a share. Michigan State can still clinch a share of the title too with a win over Indiana and a Washington loss.
Wednesday is the biggest day of the season yet. Check out the complete schedule for the final day and standings as the postseason picture takes its shape.