Senior forward DeJuan Jones (6) dribbles the ball during the exhibition match against Western Michigan on Aug. 13, 2018 at DeMartin Soccer Stadium. The Spartans tied with the Broncos, 1-1.
No. 16 Michigan State men’s soccer (0-2-2) suffered their second straight loss Sunday night to Cornell (1-1-0). The loss came at the hands of an overtime score from Will Citron, putting Cornell up 2-1 and ending the game.
Michigan State’s offensive woes continued, managing only four shots on goal over the course of the game, while on the other side Cornell fired 19 shots - eight of which were on goal.
The first period passed with neither team able to get themselves on the board. Through the first 45 minutes, the Spartans only managed two shots, but again, were kept in the game by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Morse.
Cornell struck first soon after halftime. Fifty-two minutes into the game, shortly following a corner kick, Harry Fuller found the net, putting Big Red up 1-0. The goal shot urgency into the green and white, as they were able to even the game up just ten minutes later.
The Spartans would find their second goal of the season via freshman forward Alaa Algahim, who would score off assists from redshirt sophomore midfielder Alex Shterenberg and sophomore forward Farai Mutatu. The goal would help push the team to their third overtime game of the four games they have played this season.
Having gone winless through its first three games, Michigan State would look to get an overtime win against this hungry Cornell team, who fell to Michigan 3-0 only two days earlier.
Cornell would hold the Spartans to zero shots taken in the short overtime. Ninety-five minutes in, Will Citron of Cornell would take his first shot of the game and put it past Morse, giving Cornell the upset victory.
The final score in overtime was 2-1, as unranked Cornell would hand a slumping Michigan State their second loss of the season.
The defeat on Sunday would conclude a two-loss weekend for Michigan State, as well as the four-game home stand to start the season. The Spartans will be loading up the bus and heading to face their second Ivy League school in a row next Saturday, where they will take on Dartmouth.
The Big Green started their season off with a loss, but were able to hang with No. 1 Wake Forest, only falling 3-1. Dartmouth will plan to keep their high play going, as they will take on a young Michigan State team that is still missing key pieces.
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