The challenges of a humid day forced both teams to struggle early, but head coach Tom Saxton said his team rebounded nicely.

“You could see people weren’t very lively,” Saxton said after the game Friday. “We had to come together as a team and have good team spirit, and that’s what really carried us through.”

Both teams were evenly matched, but it was San Diego State who knocked in the first goal of the evening. In the 25th minute, Aztec forward Haley Locker got a pass from forward Haley Keane and was able score after breaking away from MSU defenders to put it past Spartan’s junior goalkeeper Courtney Clem.

Trailing by one with less than a minute left in the first half, MSU got a scoring chance when Aztec goalkeeper Melanie Vaughn lost the ball which gave sophomore midfielder Kirsten Evans a scoring opportunity on an empty net to tie the game, 1-1, heading into halftime.

The game stayed deadlocked through the second half and through both overtime periods to end in the Spartans’ first tie of the season.

“These are the kind of games we need in our (non-conference schedule) to get us ready for the Big Ten,” Clem said.

Despite the long game Friday night, the Spartans rebounded to pick up the 2-1 victory against the Dayton Flyers (2-2-0) on Sunday afternoon.

Sophomore forward Allyson Krause picked up MSU’s first goal in the 19th minute of the game on a breakaway to give the Spartans the lead.

In the 54th minute, redshirt freshman Erica Goodenough tacked on her first goal of the season to give the Spartans a two-goal advantage.

However, the Spartans couldn’t hold onto the shutout when Flyer midfielder Ashley Campbell netted her second goal of the season. Last season as a freshman, Campbell was tied for 42nd in the NCAA in goals scored to help Dayton lead the nation with nearly three goals a game.

The Spartans now will look to continue its momentum as they get ready for Big Ten play when they take on Oakland at 5 p.m. Thursday at DeMartin Stadium.

Last season, MSU finished just 2-8-1 in Big Ten play, but this year’s team is more determined, sophomore forward Rachel Van Poppelen said.

“Our train of thought (is different),” Van Poppelen said. “We want to win the Big Ten championship this year and I think this team is more driven than it’s ever been.”