“I think (the team) played awesome,” freshman goalkeeper Zach Bennett said. “It was a tough game against Detroit, a great team, but (we) got the victory in the end, and that’s all we really need.”

MSU’s lone goal came after senior midfielder Luke Norman pounced on a rebound off a shot by senior defender Ryan Thelen.

Norman leads the team in goals, totaling three thus far.

Sophomore forward Adam Montague is right behind him with two goals, and five other players each have a goal and an assist.

“We were pushing so much … we were getting chance after chance,” Norman said. “I knew it was going to be someone, and I was just lucky to be on the end of it. It was a great team effort. Ryan Thelen hit a great shot, and I was just lucky to be on the rebound.”

His goal came in the final four minutes while MSU was playing a man-up, following a Detroit red card about 10 minutes prior.

Head coach Damon Rensing said he believes a red card can definitely play into a team’s advantage when it’s a close game, and that proved to be the case for MSU.

“Certainly, red cards change the game,” Rensing said. “I think when it’s 0-0, it works in the team that has the numbers advantage. Sometimes when you have the lead, you just sit in and defend. It certainly helped us; I think they were tired, and we were able to keep the pressure on and find some more space.”

Wednesday’s game was Bennett’s second ever and also MSU’s second shutout this season. The Spartans played to a 0-0 tie with Valparaiso during the first regular season game this year.

“I think the other important thing is that we got a shutout,” Rensing added. “It was good to keep that in check as well.”

MSU currently is 1-1-0 in Big Ten play, and it will travel to Penn State for a game Sunday afternoon to try to bring that record above .500.