A season that started with an exciting high has been met with a heart-wrenching low for the MSU men’s soccer team.
The team beat then-No. 11 Duke in the preseason, then went on to open up the season with a victory at then-No. 6 Maryland.
Men's soccer still can rebound from tough stretch
Pat Evans
—Despite a loss to Georgetown two nights after Maryland, the Spartans came back to East Lansing with a certain confidence – and deservedly so.
But after pulling together an 11-3 record — 7-0 at home — and a season-high ranking of No. 11, MSU ran into some problems and began a three-game slide.
Sitting at 2-2 in the Big Ten, the Spartans still were in the hunt for the conference championship, especially hosting Indiana — the team sitting atop the standings.
The already hobbling Spartans dropped like flies in a rough 3-0 loss against the Hoosiers on Oct. 24.
Following an overtime loss at Michigan and a 1-0 loss hosting No. 2 Akron, MSU has dropped out of the top 25 with an 11-6 overall record and 2-4 in the Big Ten.
Some fans might be losing hope for the MSU men’s soccer team, especially with other MSU teams playing so well. But hope is not lost.
The start of the season was no fluke. When healthy, the Spartans are one of the best teams in the country — and they’re getting healthier.
But injuries happen in a long athletic season, and the Spartans are dealing with them just fine. An 11-6 record isn’t terrible, especially in a tough Big Ten Conference. Not to mention every loss for MSU has come to teams in the top 30 of RPI ratings.
Although the team no longer has a top 25 rating in front of its name, MSU is ranked No. 12 in the RPI, and the top 16 get home-field advantage for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
With many of the injured players on the verge of coming back — and the backups getting valuable experience — the Spartans are poised to make a deep postseason run.
The Spartans have extraordinary goalkeeping, a fantastic defensive backline, smart midfielders and prolific scoring forwards. When healthy, those ingredients help make this team one of the best in the country.
A boost in confidence should come with a victory at Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday, followed by a week off to prepare physically and mentally before the Big Ten Tournament.
READ MORE
The lull in success for the MSU men’s soccer team is just a valley between mountains.
Pat Evans is a sports reporter for The State News. He can be reached at evanspa7@msu.edu.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
