After winning the Big Ten Tournament last season, the MSU men's soccer team has a steep hill to climb to do it again.

The Spartans (7-5-5) are entering this year's tournament as the No. 4 seed, and will face No. 5 Michigan (8-9-1) at 9 a.m. today on Northwestern's campus.

Head coach Joe Baum said the team will need to win the whole thing to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.

"If two of our ties were wins, we might have a good chance," he said.

This is the same Michigan team the Spartans shut out 2-0 this season. But Baum said despite the Spartans' victory, the team has room for improvement.

"Our forwards are playing with more composure than they did a month ago so that is positive," he said. "It seems like we need 20 shots to score one goal — we just need to keep working on finishing."

Just like last year, Baum said the presence of quality teams such as Penn State and Indiana means the Spartans will be overlooked.

"People don't expect us to do a lot of damage so we are going in under the radar again," he said.

The Spartans' defense has been strong down the stretch, earning two shutouts in its last three games. Senior defender Steve Doster said if the team is to do well today and throughout the weekend, it will have to keep its opponents' scoring down.

"Defense keeps us in the game and if we give up soft goals it is hard to come back," Doster said. "As long as we keep the zero, we will give ourselves a chance."

Michigan is entering the game having lost three straight games, but as far as senior midfielder John Kaczmarek is concerned, they will use those losses as motivation.

"Losing three games in a row is just going to make them focus on winning that much more," he said. "They are going to give it their all."

Doster said the Spartans need to look at this game with a one-and-done mentality.

"It is definitely a must-win and we have to give everything we have," Doster said. "Tomorrow, we could be done."