The MSU men’s soccer team (7-7-1) swept the Big Ten weekly honors, nabbing the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards.
Senior midfielder Domenic Barone picked up the offensive accolade, while freshman goalkeeper Zach Bennett picked up the defensive one.
“I am happy for both Domenic and Zach,” head coach Damon Rensing told msuspartans.com.
“Shutouts start with the goalkeeper, but certainly that is a team effort. Our backline played great in both games as well. (Bennett) made both the routine and special saves when called upon. It has been a long road back for (Barone) from his surgery last year, and I am especially happy for him. I thought he was very good in both games both offensively and defensively. We will need him in these last games of the year.”
Barone had a game-winning goal in each of MSU’s last two games — a 1-0 win over Oakland Wednesday and a 2-0 defeat of Wisconsin on Sunday.
This award is the first weekly award of Barone’s career.
Bennett’s honor comes after he shut out Oakland and Wisconsin, extending his shutout streak to a personal best of just more than 222 minutes.
He also made seven saves in those two games, with four against Wisconsin.
Bennett is the first person to win the defensive award since Jeremy Clark won it on Nov. 7, 2011.
Sophomore forward Tim Kreutz is the only other Spartan to win the award this year, picking up Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 24.
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