Senior goalie Avery Steinlage grabs the ball as it floats above the goal. The Spartans defeated Wisconsin 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.
The first goal tells the story of the No. 21 MSU men’s soccer team game against Wisconsin Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans (9-3 Overall, 2-2 Big Ten) beat the Badgers (1-9-2, 0-2-1), 3-0, with a few unconventional goals, including an own goal and a penalty kick.
The first goal came when junior midfielder Cyrus Saydee fired a shot at the Wisconsin goalie. Following the deflecting save, a Badger defender attempted to clear the ball, kicking it off the top post and into the net.
The shutout is MSU’s seventh of the season. Senior goalie Avery Steinlage said Sunday’s defense was even more important than usual.
“It’s very important, if you don’t get scored on you don’t lose games,” Steinlage said. “We knew Wisconsin was more of a defensive-minded team so we knew it was important to not get scored on, because if they were ahead they would pack it in and make it tough for us.”
A tackle in the Wisconsin box gave the Spartans a penalty kick in the 41st minute. Junior forward Domenic Barone netted the kick for his sixth goal of the season.
“(Junior forward Brent Rosendall) made a great run down the line and I got to take the kick,” Barone said. “Once it was 2-0 we knew we had control and took possession.”
Wisconsin hasn’t scored more than two goals all season, so the 2-0 lead was fairly safe for the Spartans.
The Spartans dropped back a bit in the second half, keeping the ball at midfield for a majority of the period.
MSU scored again on a scramble in front of the Wisconsin net after a rebound was redirected by Barone and sent to the back of the net by senior defender Jake Fullerton.
With the defensive strategy in the second half, Wisconsin was able to create a few chances of its own.
“We decided to set in a little,” Barone said. “But we knew they were going to change their strategy. They came out with a little high pressure and they did well, they had us pinned for 10 (or) 15 minutes.”
A shot sailed just wide of the net after making it past Steinlage. A few minutes later, junior defender Mark Barone made a picture-perfect slide tackle to prevent what appeared to be a given goal.
With 21:38 left, senior midfielder Jeff Ricondo was brought down on a breakaway and was taken off the field with an injury. MSU nearly scored on the ensuing free kick by Mark Barone from just outside the box.
Ricondo, a co-captain, was carted off the field.
Head coach Damon Rensing said he hopes the injury is minor.
“I try not to worry until it’s time to worry,” he said. “It looks like it’s something with his clavicle, and we just hope it’s not broken. Just a freak play and Jeff is such a hard worker who goes and goes.”
MSU will travel to Bowling Green on Wednesday for a nonconference matchup.
Rensing said despite Sunday’s final score, Wisconsin was hard to prepare for and his team performed well.
“I thought it was a really professional performance,” he said. “Wisconsin, they’ve lost some games, but they’ve always been by one goal. They’re a tough team to break down. I thought we did a great job doing it.”
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