EAST LANSING, Mich. — Sixth-ranked Michigan State took an early lead and outshot its visitors by more than two to one, but No. 7 Washington left DeMartin Stadium with a 1-1 draw on Friday night in a game with first place in the Big Ten at stake.
Senior forward Andrew Darakdjian opened the scoring in the 27th minute. Senior midfielder Leo Conneh launched a long ball from the left, and Darakdjian finished past Huskies goalkeeper Stockton Short for his team-best seventh goal. It was Conneh’s fifth assist of the year, and the Spartans carried the lead to halftime.
Washington drew even 10 minutes into the second half. Zach Ramsey, the top scorer in the country, curled a direct free kick from just outside the box past Spartan keeper Jake Grekowicz for his 17th goal and his second free-kick score of the season, matching the third-highest single-season total in his program’s history.
The Huskies played the rest of the night a man short after Harrison Bertos was sent off with a second yellow card, and Washington brought on defenders Gabe Fernandez and Shaun Brun as the Huskies sat deeper and looked to counter while Michigan State pushed for a winner. Washington defender Shaun Brun cleared one last Spartan attempt in the dying seconds. Michigan State finished with a 15-7 edge in shots and a 7-4 lead in corners.
In the team release, Spartans coach Damon Rensing called it a top-level college game and said his side controlled long stretches but needed to handle Washington’s transition attack and set pieces better.
Michigan State is now 9-2-3 and 5-1-2 in the Big Ten, and its 17 points keep it tied with No. 4 Indiana for first place. The Spartans welcome Green Bay at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, before returning to conference play against Rutgers on Friday, Oct. 30. Washington stays in the state to play Michigan on Monday.
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