After holding onto a one goal lead twice in the game, the men’s soccer team settled for a 2-2 draw against No. 3 Creighton in Omaha, Neb. Tuesday night.
The Spartans (4-1-1 overall) were tested early on by the dangerous Bluejay offense. Bruno Castro and Timo Pitter were both off target before the ten minute mark.
MSU junior midfielder Fatai Alashe found the back of the net off a deflection from a corner kick by junior forward Adam Montague in the 13th minute.
Creighton answered back in the 21st minute when a shot from Marvin Iskra let loose a shot from eight yards out that sophomore goalkeeper Zach Bennett couldn’t stop.
The second half got underway quickly for both teams. Senior defender Ryan Thelen and sophomore midfielder Jay Chapman assisted on a goal by junior forward Tim Kreutz that he headed into the right side of the net.
Again, the Bluejays answered back quickly when Castro’s netted his second goal of the season just over two minutes later.
Montague and junior midfielder Ben Myers both picked up yellow cards for MSU in the second half.
Bennett, the back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, withstood an onslaught of shots from the highly rated Bluejays. Creighton vastly outshot MSU 21-9, but five of the Spartan’s shots were on frame.
The first overtime period saw both teams get opportunities. Montague had a pair of shots for MSU, while Creighton had two as well.
The second overtime period saw even less action, with no shots from MSU just two from Creighton.
Overshadowing the game was the absence of senior defender Kevin Cope on the back line. The captain missed his third straight game.
The Spartans return home to take on Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. Saturday at DeMartin Stadium.
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