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FINAL: MSU 4, Notre Dame 3, Farai Mutatu's hat trick gets MSU much needed win

September 15, 2021

The Spartans lost a lead late, falling to the Zips 2-1 on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.

Michigan State forward Farai Mutatu is the man for MSU men's soccer right now.

Reeling back on the last six games of the season, there are some pretty clean plays that have helped MSU men's soccer succeed off his feet.

There was that jaw-dropper of a goal to open against Oakland on Sept. 3, a quick one-two turn that no one saw coming.

And then last night.

Mutatu carried the green and white to a last-minute lead-snatching 4-3 victory on the back of his hat trick on Tuesday night.

The game itself was very back and forth from the get-go. When Notre Dame scored, Mutatu answered. When Mutatu fell short, Beck caught the slack. The chemistry of the pair is what kept the field alive after that heavy 5-1 defeat to Tulsa on Saturday.

A lightning delay kept both squads off the field for a short 30 minutes, but it must have struck the Fighting Irish's locker room as they came out energized and stormed out to a quick 3-1 lead at the half. The lone goal for the Spartans came from Mutatu as he kept the Spartans within striking distance at the half.

Shortly into the second half, Mutatu had gotten the board to a standoff after his tying goal just seven minutes after Beck's goal five minutes into the second half to bring them within one.

72:37.

That was the time on the clock when Mutatu managed to capture the flag of victory. While Notre Dame put up a good fight, they went home waving white after collecting 12 fouls and one yellow card on Fighting Irish senior midfielder Mohamed Omar.

“It was a total team effort, I was really proud of the guys," Michigan State Head Coach Damon Rensing said. "Obviously, the first half is not what you want. Kind of went into halftime going, 'Why do I do this as a job?' Then you get to the second half and this is why you do it."

The Spartans (3-3-0) will travel next up to Madison, where they will face Wisconsin (2-2-2) on somewhat level ground. This will be the first of eight Big Ten competitions of the 2021 season for Michigan State. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m.

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