The eight seniors on MSU men’s soccer team may only have one game left.
If they want to continue to play after today, they’ll have to earn the extra games - with wins.
The Spartans will have to beat Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament today in Madison, Wis.
The team shutout Ohio State in their only contest this season, winning 3-0 but is expecting better competition from the Buckeyes in the tournament.
“There’s no doubt we have the talent to beat them, but they’re a very good team and to beat them twice in one year will be very difficult,” head coach Joe Baum said.
If MSU bests Ohio State, the second round holds the winner of the Penn State vs. Northwestern game.
No. 1 seeded Penn State is likely to win, setting up a potential rematch between these two teams with history.
The Nittany Lions beat the Spartans 1-0 in double overtime this season, and Penn State has knocked MSU out of the Big Ten Tournament bracket for the past two years.
“I think there’s a little bit of a sour taste in our mouths,” senior midfielder Steve Arce said. “I think if we get past Ohio State, the boys will be up for that game, especially because it’s Penn State.”
But three other teams have reason to be optimistic as well, Baum said.
“There’s only one team in the conference that has a losing record,” Baum said. “What a conference! Six of your seven teams have a winning record.”
MSU proved it belonged in the Big Ten with games such as its win over then-No. 15 Ohio State and its Oct. 14 4-2 win over Michigan, establishing a 3-3 record against the Big Ten.
But it wasn’t always clear the team could be the what it is now, Baum said.
While MSU lost only five starters last year, those losses were problematic for the backfield, he said.
Key defenders like defenseman John Benoist and midfielder Pat Mahoney graduated along with goalkeeper T.J. Lieckfelt and in the beginning, the team felt the losses, Baum said.
But as the season progressed, sophomore goalkeeper Mike Robinson stepped up to fill Lieckfelt’s spot and others contributed to reestablish the defense, Arce said.
“We’ve gained a great player in (freshman defenseman) Kellen Kalso,” Arce said. “He’s really stepped in where Benoist left off. Guys like (senior midfielder) Anders Kelto coming here organizing the defense and Mike Robinson, he’s starting to get vocal and he’s become more of a leader.”
Sophomore midfielder John Minagawa-Webster, last year’s leading scorer, continued his offensive success and junior forward Brett Konley and freshman forward Ryan McMahen became legitimate threats for opposing teams.
“Honestly, this is probably the best offensive team we’ve had since me and Steve (Arce) have been playing,” senior defenseman Paul Vance said. “The thing is, we’re all on the same page this year, the defense all the way to the forwards.”
The team will have a chance to show the Big Ten that offense this weekend as it attempts to top the Big Ten and win an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“Our expectation was to win the Big Ten,” Vance said. “We didn’t win the regular season, so our main goal now is to win the Big Ten Tournament and make the NCAA Tournament. We have a great team, we should expect nothing less than that.”
