No. 24 Michigan State men's soccer beat Niagara 4-1 at DeMartin Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 30. The Spartans scored three goals in 12 first-half minutes and improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2017.

The 4-0 start contrasts with a program that went 5-8-3 last season and missed the Big Ten Tournament, The State News reported. MSU has now scored 16 goals in four games.

MSU dominated throughout.

Sophomore midfielder Peter Soudan doubled the lead in the 31st minute after senior forward Andrew Darakdjian played the ball into his path. Sophomore midfielder Luke Spadafora made it 3-0 in the 36th minute. Senior midfielder Leo Conneh added a fourth in the 60th minute, assisted by Soudan. Niagara's Till Rauch pulled one back in the 70th minute for the 4-1 final.

MSU outshot Niagara 21-5 and held a 9-1 edge in shots on goal, according to WILX. Head coach Damon Rensing, in his 18th season, rotated through nearly his entire squad and gave freshman goalkeeper Ezra Horlings 10 minutes at the end.

Soudan, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, has been central to the offensive surge. Rensing credited Soudan's development along with the returns from injury of Darakdjian and junior forward Mohamed Saad for the increased goal output, according to The State News.

"The biggest thing is we're all unselfish and playing for each other," Soudan told The State News after the Aug. 30 match. "We want that extra pass to give the guy the best chance to score and we don't really care who scores."

Darakdjian's return has been its own story. He transferred to MSU from Oakland University in spring 2025 but missed the entire season with an ACL injury. After scoring the game-winning goal in MSU's 2-1 win over Seattle on Aug. 23, Darakdjian called the comeback a blessing and told WLNS he loved the group that supported him through recovery.

The No. 24 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Poll marks the first time MSU men's soccer has been ranked since 2023, according to MSU Athletics. Both the men's and women's teams are ranked at the same time for the first time since October 2023. The women sit at No. 3.

MSU is one of seven ranked Big Ten teams. Maryland leads the conference at No. 4, followed by Washington at No. 11, Indiana at No. 14, UCLA at No. 17, Ohio State at No. 22 and Wisconsin at No. 23.

None of the Spartans' next four opponents are ranked. MSU hosts Pittsburgh on Thursday, Sept. 3 at DeMartin Stadium at 7 p.m.