With a great defensive effort, the men's soccer team moved one step closer to another Big Ten Tournament title by defeating rival Michigan 1-0 Thursday.

"We played the best second half we have had all year," head coach Joe Baum said.

Freshman forward Doug DeMartin scored the lone goal in the game, and it was enough to give the Spartans (8-5-5 overall) the victory. DeMartin took a pass from junior midfielder Matt Kreikemeier and fired the ball past Michigan goalie Peter Dzubay.

"We were building up on the right side, and Matt slid him the ball and he buried it on the far post," Baum said.

The game was evenly played through the first half. U-M had the best scoring opportunity when defender Kevin Savitskie hooked up with forward Trai Blanks, but Blanks' shot went wide.

In the second half, the Wolverines (8-10-1 overall) came out firing and had a quick shot on junior goalie Jason Tillman, which he was able to turn away. The defense came up big in the rest of the contest to turn away the Wolverines — something Baum said was a key to the victory.

"One of our goals was not to get beat one-on-one," Baum said. "They had shots from the outside but didn't get close for dangerous chances — our one-on-one defense turned into good team defense."

After this win, MSU has no time to relax. It will take on top-seeded Penn State tomorrow at 11:45 a.m.

Penn State went undefeated in Big Ten play, but Baum said if the MSU defense comes up big, the offense will take care of the rest.

"If we come out and play great defense, we'll find a way to finish one," Baum said.