The men’s soccer team rebounded Sunday from last weekend’s 6-1 beating at the hands of Indiana to defeat Northwestern 1-0 and earn its first Big Ten victory of the season.
Defense and teamwork were keys in this weekend’s matchup, both things MSU (6-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) lacked in its last game.
“We were more organized today, we weren’t jumping in,” head coach Joe Baum said.
“Against Indiana I think maybe we were trying a little too hard. Today, we just said, ‘Look, play your normal game, nothing fancy, just stay organized, make normal plays,’ and I thought we did all right.”
Junior forward Craig Hearn had the lone score of the game. Hearn’s breakaway goal came on an assist from senior defender Scott Babinski, and found net 36 minutes, 19 seconds into the half.
MSU had several more scoring opportunities, but failed to capitalize, including two near misses that bounced off the posts. Goalkeeper J.D. Martin had eight saves for Northwestern, which moves to (4-5, 1-1) on the season. For the game, the Spartans outshot the Wildcats 15-6.
Despite the lopsided totals, Northwestern nearly knotted the score twice in the waning minutes of the match. The Wildcats’ comeback was snuffed by MSU senior goalkeeper Tyler Robinson, who made two diving saves to preserve the victory.
Robinson earned his fourth shutout between the posts for MSU and gave most of the credit to his teammates’ effort.
“Northwestern only had four shots the whole game,” Robinson said. “That really says something about our defense, how hard they work out there.
“They’re a huge part of it, I couldn’t do it without them.”
Junior midfielder Jeffrey Krass agreed that the defense made all the difference.
“The difference between Indiana and today really started with our defense,” Krass said. “We decided we needed to come out and have a team defensive effort.
“We know if we start from the back and work our way up, the goals will come.”
Baum was happy with his team’s performance as a whole, and said every player on the pitch made a positive contribution in Sunday’s win as the Spartans appeared confident and hardworking.
“I thought the star of this game today was the team,” Baum said. “There wasn’t one individual who stood out, all the guys played well together.
“I call this a workman-like victory, and believe me, we’ll take it. We’re glad to be back.”
MSU faces off against Loyola at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Old College Field before taking the road for the next four games.
