Senior midfielder/ defender Kelsey Mullen falls to the ground after making contact with Oakland midfielder Abigail Haelewyn during the match Sept. 5, 2013 at DeMartin Stadium. The Spartans tied the Grizzlies, 1-1, after playing two scoreless overtime periods. Khoa Nguyen/ The State News
Despite the defense not being up to snuff for much of their game against Oakland, the MSU women’s soccer team has yet to suffer its first loss.
The Spartans (3-0-2 overall) tied the Grizzlies (1-3-1), 1-1, in a double-overtime match Thursday evening that saw plenty of offensive opportunities for both sides, but were unable to capitalize on many of them.
“Our defensive organization was quite poor in the first half, which is why they carried the play and had more possessions and more chances than us,” head coach Tom Saxton said. “We didn’t handle them well, and quite honestly, we’re probably fortunate to walk away with a tie given the way we started the game.”
In the 61st minute, Oakland took a corner kick and Oakland defender Sarah Reynolds knocked a shot past junior Spartan goalkeeper Courtney Clem from two yards out.
However, MSU sophomore defenseman Mary Kathryn Fiebernitz did not wait long to answer back.
Just a minute later, sophomore defenseman Alexandra Gjonaj took a corner kick for MSU and placed it perfectly to give Fiebernitz a chance to put a header past Oakland goalkeeper Stephanie Bukovec.
“The timing of the goal was huge,” Saxton said. “Thank God she got one in that spot, because we needed something there.”
Saxton said it wasn’t until about 20 minutes left in regulation when his team started to communicate and get organized.
Agreeing with the coach, Clem, who tallied nine saves in the game, said along with the organization, the team couldn’t finish despite several opportunities.
“We didn’t come out strong in the first half and that honestly hurt us in the end,” Clem said. “We did finally get our chances and figured out their system, but we couldn’t finish, bottom line.
“Plenty of times we could’ve finished them, we just didn’t do it today.”
Heading into the weekend, the Spartans will travel more than 1,500 miles out west to Albuquerque to face New Mexico (1-3).
The Lobos are coming off back-to-back losses against No. 1 North Carolina and No. 12 Duke, and Saxton knows there is no room for error.
“We have to be at our absolute best to have a chance out there at their place,” Saxton said. “We’ll use (Oakland) as a growth experience. I think we can beat anyone on any given day, but we’ll have our work cut out for us (against New Mexico).”
With a long road trip ahead, Fiebernitz said the team will need to make sure they’re recovered mentally and physically for New Mexico.
“(We need to do) all of the things you can do physically to prepare for your body,” Fiebernitz said.
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