The game played out like the movie “Groundhog Day” with the Spartans seemingly about to break through for a great chance, but Indiana time and time again scrambling and making a play to keep MSU away.

“Indiana’s defensive backs are so quick that we couldn’t get that deep penetration,” MSU head coach Joe Baum said. “We’d build up to the final third and I thought we’d spring a guy and there backs are extremely quick.
They’re the quickest team we’ve played all year. They bend but they never break. My hat’s off to their backs.”

Indiana couldn’t get much going itself through the first half and into the early portions of the second half, but the Hoosiers capitalized with 12:52 remaining in the contest.

Indiana’s Charley Traylor played a ball to Neil Wilmarth whose diving header evaded a sliding Chris Austin to give the Hoosiers the 1-0 edge.

MSU turned up the heat, but had some tough luck down the stretch.

Junior forward Doug DeMartin was in on a break and was hauled down in the box, but the official chose not to make the call and, with under a minute to go, senior defender Rauwshan McKenzie jarred the ball loose from the goaltender and put it in the net, but it was ruled a foul on McKenzie.

“I think Rauwshan bumped him right before the ball came in,” Baum said. “I thought I saw a bump myself and the ref’s protecting the goalie.”

Austin made six saves for the Spartans while Chay Cain made three saves for Indiana.

“I’m proud of the team,” Baum said. “I thought we came out here and gave just a fantastic effort. Soccer’s a weird game. One bounce you’re a winner, one bounce you’re a loser and today they got a good bouncer on that air ball and we didn’t.”

MSU will now wait until Nov. 19 to find out if it will be in the 48-team NCAA Tournament.

“If there’s not a lot of upsets, if most people who should win their conference win it, we’ll be in good shape,” Baum said. “But if you start
getting a lot of upsets, then we’re in trouble.”