A late corner kick turned into the only goal Michigan State needed Friday night, and Oscar Huerta made it count.
The junior forward buried a diving header in the 85th minute to lift No. 19 MSU past Penn State, 1-0, at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pa.
The result pushed the Spartans to 6-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 in Big Ten play, giving Michigan State a conference start it hadn’t reached since 2018. It also means MSU has already passed last season’s win total after finishing 5-8-3 in 2025.
Penn State dropped to 2-4-0 and 0-2 in the Big Ten.
Michigan State’s defense and junior goalkeeper Jake Grekowicz were just as important as Huerta’s finish. Grekowicz and the back line picked up their second straight Big Ten shutout and their fourth clean sheet of the season. Grekowicz came up with key stops in the 52nd and 80th minutes, while sophomore defender Conner O’Keefe preserved the scoreless tie in the 36th minute by blocking a Sheridan McNish shot in the box.
MSU head coach Damon Rensing pointed to the grind of the schedule after the match.
"This was a huge win for our guys tonight. It wasn't our best performance; we had a lot of adversity on the road," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said.
"Penn State didn't have a mid-week game and this was our third game in eight days. I thought we started out really bright and got a lot of numbers behind the ball.
To their credit, they came out and caused some problems at the end of the first half and the start of the second. I give our guys a lot of credit.
Grek (Jake Grekowicz) made a great save to keep it 0-0."
The Spartans did enough early to create chances without finding the breakthrough. Senior midfielder Miles Merritt had the first shot of the match in the fifth minute, sending it just wide. Penn State held a narrow edge in shots after the opening half, 5-4, and also led corner kicks 5-2 as the teams went into the break scoreless.
MSU’s attack started to stir late. In the 76th and 77th minutes, the Spartans put together a flurry that included blocked shots from Huerta and Merritt, plus an off-target blast from senior forward Andrew Darakdjian.
A few minutes later, Merritt delivered the corner that Huerta headed home for his first goal of the season. Merritt now has two assists.
MSU finished with an 11-10 advantage in shots.
"I am just really proud of the guys. What a great performance to go on the road and get a big time win at Happy Valley," Rensing said.
The Spartans are back home next Friday, Sept. 25, to face No. 7 Wisconsin at 7 p.m. on Alumni Day.
In Other News...
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The bigger problem was on the other side of the ball, where Michigan State never found much room to settle in under pressure. Milivojevic threw two interceptions, and the offense spent too much of the day chasing the game instead of controlling it, while Cam Edwards was limited late by injury. For a team trying to find traction, the defensive effort offered something to build on, but the Spartans are still left sorting through the missed chances that turned a winnable stretch into another reminder of how much cleaner the operation needs to be. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Showed Something Against Notre Dame Fans Can Rally Around
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Pat Fitzgeralds group still has a long way to go, and this was not the kind of result that changes the record book. Even so, the response from the fan base suggested something more important may have happened for a team trying to build momentum: a performance that, despite the loss, gave supporters a glimpse of a future they can get behind. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Showed Promise At Notre Dame But One Issue Ruined It
Michigan State left Notre Dame with a loss, but not without a few reasons to think there is something to build on. The Spartans fell 27-10, yet there were encouraging flashes from second-string quarterback Cam Fancher and linebacker Jordan Hall, who helped keep the game from slipping away too quickly and showed the kind of effort the staff will point to while sorting through the tape.
Kenneth Williams, Tre Bell and Charles Brantley were also part of the story, though not in the way Michigan State needed. The game turned on costly mistakes that blunted some of the positive signs and kept the Spartans from turning a competitive stretch into anything more lasting, leaving plenty of production to review and one obvious issue that overshadowed the rest. [Read more 🡒]