Senior forward Jeff Ricondo runs past Western Michigan midfielder Darren Jones on Wednesday at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field. Ricondo would go on to score his third goal of the season in the 67th minute to help the Spartans defeat the Broncos 5-0.
—The No. 21 MSU men’s soccer team struck once early and went on a scoring barrage late in the second half to defeat Western Michigan, 5-0, Wednesday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.
The 5-0 score was a little misleading from how the game actually played out head coach Damon Rensing said.
“You have to give a lot of credit to Western Michigan,” Rensing said. “They were well-coached, they worked and worked, and they made this a game. It really wasn’t that type of 5-0 game, it didn’t get that way until the end.”
The Spartans (9-3) struck quickly in the fourth minute of play when senior midfielder Spencer Thompson nabbed a Bronco clearance and passed to junior forward Brent Rosendall who slid the ball into junior midfielder Cyrus Saydee’s stride for goal.
MSU threatened Western Michigan several more times in the first.
Senior midfielder Jeff Ricondo rocketed a ball off the top post from the top of the box off of a Thompson corner kick.
Saydee came close to netting a second goal in the first half on a breakaway, but a Western Michigan defender pulled him down from behind, resulting in a red card and allowing the Spartans to play a man up the rest of the game.
“It’s a physical game at times,” Rensing said. “Our guys were good to manage their emotions to stay professional and get a good result.”
Rosendall came close in the first when he received a ball and took it in from the left side past the goalie, his open net shot was deflected by a sliding defender.
Despite playing a man down, the Broncos started the second half strong.
Two close calls for the Spartans were extinguished, once by the post and the other by senior goalie Avery Steinlage.
The Spartans came back with several chances including a bicycle kick by Rosendall. The ball was netted on the cross, but was called off because due to an offsides call.
A second close call for Ricondo came with about 26 minutes left in game when a through ball made it past the defense and a beautiful save by the goalie was the only savior for the Broncos.
The Spartans struck again off a corner kick when Rosendall headed it in.
Saydee nearly had his second goal when a cross to him left the net wide open, but
the midfielder put the ball parallel to the net.
Ricondo netted a goal on the same exact play he hit the top post on in the first half, just minutes after Rosendall scored.
“I was a little unlucky not to score in the first half off the crossbar,” Ricondo said. “It was basically the same play, stayed over the ball a little more in the second half so it would go in.”
Another breakaway at the 80 minute mark resulted in Rosendall’s second goal, giving him two goals and an assist on the game.
“I’m usually a little bit slow getting into the swing of things,” Rosendall said. “Today, I got to start and get in the flow of things, so it was a little bit easier that way.”
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Rosendall’s play made his coach happy.
“He played very well,” Rensing said. “He did a great job both on the score sheet and his overall play.”
With 7:52 left, freshman forward Tim Kreutz scored on a breakaway similar to Rosendall’s just minutes prior.
The win gives the Spartans much needed confidence after Sunday’s loss at Penn State.
“The Penn State loss was tough, but we needed to come out and have good showing,” Ricondo said. “We have Big Ten games every weekend, so the midweek games we can’t let slip by.”
