The Spartans dropped their third 2-0 decision in a row Sunday to No. 20 Ohio State.

MSU (11-4-3 overall, 2-3-1 Big Ten) came out sluggish in the first half, allowing Ohio State (11-3-4, 4-1-1) to get on the board seven minutes in, and again off a corner kick 18 minutes later.

“There are no excuses today,” MSU head coach Joe Baum said. “We were at home on a beautiful grass field on a beautiful day in front of a nice crowd, it’s senior day and we just didn’t play that well. It’s all on the Spartans.

“Second half I thought we played really well. Problem is, at that point we’re down by two goals, they’re packing (the field) in and there is not much space. I liked the way we stuck with it, but you dig yourself these holes and you can’t dig out of it.”

Late in the second half, senior midfielder Kevin Reiman received a controversial red card for slide tackling an Ohio State player from behind.

Reiman, a key player in the middle for the Spartans, will now be forced to watch game one of the Big Ten Tournament from the bench.

“It’s going to hurt us offensively, but believe me, defensively we might be a little better. (Sophomore midfielder) Jeff Ricondo will be his replacement and he is a fine player – he played really well today,” Baum said. “I wish we had Kevin, but that happens in sports and you have to move along.”

The loss to the Buckeyes comes immediately following two disappointing 2-0 defeats against Cincinnati and Northwestern.

“I’m not making excuses, but (the last two games) we were on the road playing on Astroturf,” Baum said. “We struggled there.”

MSU will host the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday through Nov. 11 where they hope to execute the offensive rhythm they had in the beginning of the season.

“We will continue to work on offense. You can’t win if you don’t score,” Baum said.

“We went from being a pretty high scoring team to not getting a goal in three games. We just have to find that offensive rhythm again.”

Ending the regular season on three shutout losses was not what Baum had hoped for, but to him the season is still a successful one.

“(The season highlight was) beating Notre Dame, they were number three in the nation and it was a great crowd. That, along with beating Michigan on national TV, was a real thrill,” Baum said. “This team has had a good season. We’ve kind of fallen off at the end, but it’s still a hard working team and I’m proud to be part of it.”

With the regular season finished, the team kicks off Thursday at Old College Field for round one of the Big Ten Tournament.