The MSU men’s soccer team only has four more games before the Big Ten Tournament on Nov. 8, but for now, only one is on the players’ minds.
Penn State comes to town at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Old College Field and could be the challenge the Spartans need to cap off an impressive season.
Penn State (7-3-1, 3-1-1 Big Ten) and MSU (8-2-1, 3-1-0 Big Ten) are battling for the No. 2 spot in the conference behind Indiana, making Sunday’s matchup a crucial game for both teams.
“The Penn State game means more than it has in years past,” sophomore midfielder Jeff Krass said. “This is the difference between being third or fourth in the Big Ten and being second.”
Throughout the season, Penn State has consistently drawn attention, habitually positioning itself in the top 20 of the NSCAA/Adidas Division I poll. The Nittany Lions are at No. 6 on the poll this week.
MSU has just begun to make itself noticed this week, drawing votes in the poll for the first time this season, though not enough to claim a spot.
“I feel right now we’re playing as well or better than any team I’ve heard of in the past decade,” junior midfielder Nick DeGraw said. “A lot of positive outcomes could come out of this game.”
Among those outcomes are possibly becoming a ranked school and of having postseason action.
“If we win, we’ll be in serious contention for a NCAA bid,” head coach Joe Baum said. “Unless we shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Though that might be easier than it sounds against Penn State, Baum said.
“They have a nice combination of some international and good U.S. players,” Baum said. “They’ll show you hard American soccer, but they have a Brazilian kid (midfielder Ricardo Villar) who will show you great technical skills.”
But the Spartans have shown throughout the season they are capable of competing with elite teams.
MSU beat No. 20 Ohio State 3-0 and Michigan 4-2 on Sunday, setting up a five-game unbeaten streak leading to Sunday’s game.
“We’ve played pretty good defense,” Baum said. “Defense is what this team is all about. We can’t think we’re going to get four goals a game and just outscore teams now.”
The Penn State defense has allowed an average of only one goal per game and has held its opponents to under six shots per game.
But despite the numbers and rankings, the Spartans believe this season has given them the skills needed to compete and win against Penn State, sophomore midfielder John Minagawa-Webster said.
“The more we play together, the more we jel as a team,” he said. “Looking at the wins, we have the possibility to play very well.”
