Sophomore midfielder Spencer Thompson hugs senior defender David Hertel after defeating Northwestern 1-0 and being named Big Ten regular season champions at DeMartin Stadium in Old College Field Sunday afternoon.
A lot was on the line Sunday afternoon for the No. 25 MSU men’s soccer team at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.
If the Spartans could get the win over No. 6 Northwestern, it would mark the first time in program history the team won the regular season Big Ten Championship.
On top of that, it was the last home game for head coach Joe Baum, who has held the reins of the program for the last 32 years.
Plus, if MSU could find a way to win, it would earn the valuable bye in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Sure enough, the Spartans rose to the occasion and earned the 1-0 victory to secure the title and send their coach out on top for the very first time.
“It couldn’t be any better,” Baum said. “My feeling was I just wanted to have a solid season so I could turn this program over to Damon (Rensing) in respectable shape. I didn’t envision this and it’s more than I could ever ask for.”
Senior forward Louis Stephens III scored the lone goal of the game in the 53rd minute and the Spartans (11-5-1 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) held on defensively to keep the Wildcats off the board.
The game turned out to be a defensive battle as sophomore goalkeeper Avery Steinlage recorded his fifth straight shutout for the Spartans.
“The defense was fantastic,” Steinlage said. “They had a couple good opportunities but our defense really held them down. They really made my job look easy again today and it’s just what they do every game.”
The Spartans had two quality scoring chances in the first half when senior defender David Hertel hit the post on two separate occasions.
“Coach (Baum) tells me to get up and get in and see what happens,” Hertel said. “I was crossing my fingers for the first shot but I didn’t have any luck at all.”
But nine minutes into the second half, the Spartans found the back of the net on the foot of Stephens.
Senior forward Doug DeMartin took a shot that Northwestern goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal was able to get a hand on, but it popped right out to Stephens who took a quick shot that Rosenthal once again got a piece of – but not enough to keep it out of the goal. The ball hit off the post and bounced straight down, barely crossing the goal line.
“My adrenaline was rushing,” Stephens said. “I literally hit it as hard as I could with no accuracy whatsoever. I turned back and looked at the side referee and ran over to the crowd. I’m still numb and the game is over.”
Northwestern had its best opportunity to equalize with six minutes left when it earned a free kick seven yards outside the 18-yard box. The Spartans assembled a six-man wall, but the ball swung around it and struck the outside of the left post.
Rensing will take over the head coaching position next season and he was ecstatic after the team’s narrow victory.
“First you are happy for Joe (Baum), but you are happy for these players, too,” Rensing said. “We started 2-4, but Joe was the backbone and with good senior leadership we didn’t panic. So it’s just great to be where we are.”
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