Two years ago, sophomore midfielder Jeff Krass scored 23 goals for Brighton High School. Now he is being recognized for only scoring a third of that.

After scoring a goal in MSU’s last two men’s soccer games, the Big Ten named Krass its Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Before the 4-1 win over Oakland on Oct. 10, Krass had scored only two goals and three assists.

Thirty-five minutes into that game, that changed as Krass knocked in the Spartans’ first goal.

His second goal of the week came in the team’s 4-2 win over Michigan on Sunday, bringing his season total to four.

The two-game scoring streak was just a matter of luck, Krass said.

“Sometimes the breaks just seem to go your way,” Krass said.

“I had the opportunities and this time, they were just finishing for me.”

As the end of the season draws near, MSU (8-2-1 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) can become a nationally-recognized team with a strong finish, making Krass’ offensive achievements even more valuable, he said.

“I’d much rather finish strong than start strong,” he said.

“You want to have your peak late in the year. It’s a crucial time.”

Scoring is nothing new to Krass, who led his high school team to a second-place finish in the state championship two years ago.

His four-goal performance so far this season may seem dismal compared to that 23-goal showing, but it’s a whole different level of play, Krass said.

“I still have the intensity,” he said.

“It’s just a different level of play. Not many guys have 23 goals in a season.”

Krass no longer plays the purely scoring midfielder role. He said he has developed his game to contribute to the team in different ways.

“He’s the most fit player on the team,” head coach Joe Baum said.

“He has a great cardiovascular (system), and he runs more in a match than any player I’ve seen.”

On top of sheer leg power, Krass also brings a good knowledge of the game that allows him to stay in the background, but continue to make big plays.

“He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” junior midfielder Nick DeGraw said. “He runs up and down the field as fast as anyone, and he does all the dirty work behind the scenes.”

That so-called “dirty work” includes such simple defensive necessities as trailing men down the field and picking up open men in the backfield.

With skills such as those, it’s not surprising that scoring is not the most appreciated of Krass’ abilities, Baum said.

“When he scores goals for us, it’s like a bonus,” Baum said. “He does so many of the simple things, we don’t even think of scoring as his role.”

Regardless, Krass’ four goals and three assists are enough to place him at third on the team’s point list behind freshman forward Ryan McMahen’s five goals and four assists and junior forward Brett Konley’s five goals and two assists.

That’s quite a bonus for the team, and goals from players such as Krass take the pressure off more prominent scorers, sophomore midfielder John Minagawa-Webster said.

“If you have a lot of people scoring, it shows your team is deep,” Minagawa-Webster said. “It gives us the possibility of some great work.”

Krass can be seen in action at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Old College Field when MSU takes on Penn State.