“I think there was a couple 10-minute spurts in each half where Indiana had the control of the play, otherwise I thought we played a very good game,” MSU head coach Tom Saxton said.

The Spartans tried to fight back in the final minutes, getting off two shots, including a shot in the 88th minute by senior midfielder Maureen Pawlak, which sailed wide right.

“I really thought we fought hard down the stretch and almost can’t believe that that last chance didn’t go in,” Saxton said. “We created several others where we were just a foot away. We’ll certainly address that in training, but right now, it’s just keeping people’s attitudes right.”

The loss moves MSU to 5-6-1 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten. The Spartans haven’t scored a goal in their last four games.

Although the Spartans are suffering a four-game scoreless streak, Saxton said the team’s attitude is just fine.

“They’ve been good so far,” he said. “The statistics show that the first goal scored wins the majority of the games, that doesn’t mean you can’t come back, but you get that feeling.

“I thought Indiana was barely hanging on and when they get the goal, whoa, life. We need that feeling ourselves, and that’s what we have to press for, we have to break through.”

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Spartans, who face Penn State and Ohio State next weekend on the road.

“There’s no time to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves — we have to go back to work and I know we will,” Saxton said.

MSU and the Nittany Lions begin at 7 p.m. Friday, and the Spartans travel to Ohio State on Sunday to take on the Buckeyes at 1 p.m.