Sometimes, a tie can feel like a loss.
That was certainly the case for the MSU men’s soccer team (7-1-2 overall, 1-0-1 Big Ten) after a 1-1 draw against Ohio State (2-6-4 overall, 0-2-1 Big Ten) Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium.
Men's soccer gets first Big Ten draw against OSU
Ohio State midfielder Kofi Aqyapong fights for control of the ball against redshirt freshman defender Andrew Herr on Oct. 13, 2013, at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field. The Spartans tied the Buckeyes, 1-1. Georgina De Moya/The State News
—“We played well enough to win the game,” head coach Damon Rensing said. “I told the guys when they lost at home to Valparaiso that they shouldn’t have been sad about the result because they didn’t put everything on the line. Today, we put everything on the line and played some good soccer.”
Junior forward Adam Montague tallied in his third straight game when he headed home a corner from senior defender Ryan Thelen in the 65th minute.
The Buckeyes tied things up with less than 10 minutes to go when a low cross from Kofi Agyapong found Ryan Ivancic wide open on the right side of the net.
Montague said the Spartans created enough chances to win the game, it was just lack of execution that turned out to be their downfall.
“Not being able to score early on really put pressure on us defensively,” Montague said. “They were throwing a ton of numbers forward. We responded well from that. Created a lot of chances and were just a little unlucky to not get the go ahead goal.”
MSU came out in overtime with a renewed sense of attack. Ohio State keeper Alex Ivanov made a great reflex save after junior forward Tim Kreutz chipped the ball to Montague for what seemed like a wide open goal.
The Spartans finished the game with a season-high 36 shots, but only nine of them were on frame. Montague led the team with nine shots, and four others tied with five.
Senior midfielder Brent McIntosh said the draw with Ohio State doesn’t feel good, but the team is getting more comfortable with each other.
“Looking at the shots, it definitely hurts to leave with a tie,” McIntosh said. “Their keeper showed up today. That was for the most part the reason we couldn’t put it in the back of the net. We outshot them and pressed hard, but just didn’t get the result we wanted to.”
Despite the result, MSU still has an all-time record of 23-18-3 against the Buckeyes.
The Spartans can regain some momentum with a midweek home tilt against Oakland at 4 p.m. Wednesday at DeMartin Stadium.
Rensing said the game against Oakland will be a crucial game in terms of getting to the NCAA tournament and being the best team in Michigan.
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“We expect our guys to win every game,” Rensing said. “I know we’re not going to 18-0 at the end of the season, but it’s important. We’ve got another chance to go 2-0 in the state of Michigan, and that will be important.”
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