In a hard-fought, physical battle, the men's soccer team (1-0-1 overall) came on late and earned a 1-1 tie against Denver on Monday in the Spartans' second game of the MSU/Radisson Fall Soccer Classic.
"You always like the win, but if you look at the game in its entirety, maybe a tie is a fair result," said head coach Joe Baum.
Baum said it seemed as though Denver started the game with a little bit of an edge. The players were controlling the time of possession and managing to keep the ball mostly in the Spartans end. Baum was not satisfied with this effort.
"The first half we came out kind of sluggish," Baum said. "Denver outplayed us pretty much. They had more jump in their legs and were getting better chances."
Denver scored off an indirect kick, as senior Liam Girard found senior Zack Kobilca at the top of the box, and Kobilca was able to fire it past Spartans junior goalie Jason Tillman to give Denver the lead going into the half.
With the Spartans down entering the second session, Baum challenged his team to step up its game and play better in the second half.
"It was definitely a good halftime speech by the coach," said freshman forward Louis Stephens III. "He told us to step up our game and we answered the challenge."
In the second half, the Spartans picked up their game and increased their pressure on Denver. Much more of the game was played in Denver's end, a turnaround from the first half.
As the clock wound down, the intensity picked up, and at the 78:49 mark, the extra hustle paid off for the Spartans. Sophomore midfielder Ben Pirmann crossed the ball to the middle of the field to Stephens who headed the ball into the back of the net to tie the score at one.
The game ended up going into double overtime before ending in a tie. Despite the outcome, Baum was satisfied with the result.
"I thought (during) the second half and the overtime, we were the better team," Baum said.
The Spartans opened their season on a positive note against UMass on Sunday afternoon by picking up a 2-1 victory.
The Spartans will be back in action on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Ann Arbor to take on Long Island in the U-M Tournament.
