Upon concluding their four-game homestand in a loss to Bowling Green State University on Labor Day, the Michigan State men's soccer team has finally taken to the road for the first time this season.
Their first stop was out west in Oklahoma, where they were defeated 5-1 in an early Tulsa-led game on Saturday night.
The Golden Hurricanes got out the gates fast, scoring two goals within the first 10 minutes of the match, deflating any hope for the Spartans early in the game.
"It was a tough result. I don't think the score is necessarily indicative of how we played, but certainly Tulsa's a very good team," Head Coach Damon Rensing said postgame.
The biggest takeaway from the green and white, Rensing said, was that they can't keep giving up a large number of goals. The team has given up 12 goals in their five games this season, allowing over two goals per game at their current pace.
MSU's only goal of the night was scored off the foot of midfielder Luke Morrell, assisted by fellow midfielder Jack Beck, 18 minutes into the game. This cut the Hurricane's 2-0 lead in half but failed to hold tight, as Tulsa went on to raise the score 4-1 by halftime.
That goal from Morrell was the only attempt at goal in the first half for Michigan State as they also struggled to generate chances in addition to their poor defensive play.
Tulsa added their fifth goal with under 10 minutes left in the evening, sending the Spartans home tired with a second consecutive loss under their belts.
"We put in a pretty good effort, but it just wasn't our night," Rensing said.
The Spartans (2-2-0) will travel next up to South Bend, Indiana, where they will face Notre Dame in a quick turnaround game on Tuesday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN's ACC Network.
This will be one of three of the team's last non-conference games on the schedule, with Duquesne and Western Michigan coming a bit later in the season.
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