Sophomore midfielder Jay Chapman looks down while junior forward Adam Montague,13, prepares to kick the ball and Valparaiso defender Mitch Albrecht tries to block the pass during the game on Sept. 8, 2013, at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field. The Spartans lost to the Crusaders 1-2.Georgina De Moya/The State News
The MSU men’s soccer team competes in their second leg of the Battle for the State of Michigan when they take on University of Detroit Mercy in Detroit today at 5 p.m.
The Spartans (2-1-0 overall) are coming off a disappointing loss to Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon, while the Titans (0-0-3) earned their third straight draw with a 0-0 draw against Robert Morris Sunday in New York.
Head coach Damon Rensing said there are plenty of plans MSU needs to take out on the field, but he knows his team will be motivated, not only because of the loss on Sunday, but also to be the best in the state.
“We certainly got bounced back off a disappointing performance,” Rensing said. “Winning Michigan is an important thing to not just me, but to all those guys in there. And Detroit will be motivated to get their first win of the season.”
Detroit is a familiar opponent for the Spartans, with the last result coming as a 1-0 win for MSU a season ago in East Lansing. MSU leads the all-time series, 8-5-1
What will be unfamiliar for the Spartans will be the challenge of playing on the turf at Detroit’s Titan Field.
While senior defender Kevin Cope said it won’t change the game plan, he added the new field at DeMartin Stadium has helped the team get used to a quicker speed of play.
“With the quality of our field compared to last, it has a true role and it plays fast, so hopefully we’re used to that,” Cope said. “If we come out with the right intensity, the playing field shouldn’t have any impact on us.”
The game will be streamed live on the Horizon League website and tape delayed on Comcast, channel 900, on Thursday and Friday.
Junior forward Tim Kreutz said the last few times the Spartans and Titans have faced off, MSU has had some trouble finding the back of the net. Leading up to the game, they’re going to focus on improving that struggle.
“First road game, we just want to be focused,” Kreutz said. “Last few years, they’re kind of a struggle because they come with a different tactical scheme than they would against other schools.”
He added that Valpo and Detroit are similar teams, so the lessons learned from the loss Sunday can be put toward improving the squad for today.
Rensing said this is a crucial game in rebounding from a loss and getting back on the right track for the rest of the season.
“We need to be ready to go for Detroit because they want a chance to beat Michigan State as well,” Rensing said. “We need to focus on being a winning team and doing the thing we need to win and not just looking good on the ball. There’s not an easy win in Division I soccer, and we hammer that home.”
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