Now, with an important match against the Mexicans set for tonight at 8 p.m. (ESPN), the legend of Dos a Cero, signifying the U.S.’s 2-0 wins over Mexico, lives on.

Even though the game is nearly 250 miles south of East Lansing, that doesn’t mean there a Spartan presence will be absent from the game.

Senior human resource management senior Matt Edwards and media and information senior Kevin Zemanski are two students heading to Columbus for the duel between the nations.

“I’m very excited,” Edwards said. “You don’t get too many opportunities to go to a qualifier match, especially USA and Mexico.”

Edwards and Zemanski were lucky to get tickets, as there were more than twice as many ticket requests as the 24,000-plus capacity Crew Stadium holds. The official U.S. supporters section, the American Outlaws, will consist of 9,000 fans stretching over 27 sections, the largest in the 100-year history of the federation.

The pair applied for the ticket lottery, but were unsuccessful. Fortunately for them, a friend of Zemanski’s brother had extras, which they snatched up in a heartbeat.

Zemanski said he was at the game in Columbus in 2001, when goals from Josh Wolff and Earnie Stewart gave birth to the legend of Dos a Cero.

His cousin, Ben Zemanski, plays for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer, or MLS. While he said he’s a U.S. fan above all else, he watched his cousin’s run through the ranks closely.

“I always start with the national team because of my dad and then go to my cousin,” Zemanski said. “My cousin went to Akron, so I followed them, and then he went to MLS, so I follow that league now.”

He admitted it’s hard to follow MSU soccer because the games are during the day when he is in class or out with friends but he’s been to a few games, such as Akron last season, and follows them on Twitter.

While Zemanski and Edwards are going to cheer on the Yanks, MSU men’s soccer coach Damon Rensing will use the game as a learning experience for his team.

“Soccer is continuing to grow in this country, and anytime soccer does well on a national and world level, that brings more focus to the people here,” Rensing said. “It’s great for our guys. We show video clips of the U.S. National Team stuff because that’s what some of their aspirations are, as lofty as those are.”

Rensing compares getting excited about the high profile match in soccer to watching the Wimbledon Championships intently in tennis or following the Masters with a close eye in golf.

Overall, the U.S. is 16-32-13 in 63 previous meetings against Mexico; but since 2000 they have been dominant, posting an 11-5-4 record against El Tri, including a 9-2-3 mark on home soil.

With a win tonight, the U.S. officially could punch its ticket to the World Cup in Brazil beginning in June; and while Edwards envisions the Dos a Cero trend to come to an end, he anticipates the experience to last a lifetime.

“My prediction is United States wins 1-0,” he said. “Just to be there for the experience like that will be amazing. This will be something you can tell your grandchildren about.”