"Western Michigan didn’t have a game for seven games," Rensing said. "They looked fresher out there, and we had a lot of heavy legs out there. In order to create chances, you need to have fresh legs. We also really needed more out of our bench. But at the end of day, we have no excuses. We need to find a way to win games."

The Broncos' junior midfielder Charlie Sharp managed to find the back of the net in the first 15 minutes, with assistance from junior midfielder/forward Dylan Sing and redshirt junior goalkeeper Isaac Walker.

The remainder of the first 45 minutes was pretty uneventful as the Broncos did their best to hold off the Spartans and sustain their minimal lead.

Then again, the second half hadn't really improved.

The second 45 minutes started with a yellow card on WMU senior forward Eric Conerty for unknown reasons, followed almost immediately by another Bronco goal off junior midfielder Brennan Creek, assisted by senior forward Mike Melaragni and sophomore defender Gavin Wigg.

In total, the Spartans made 3 shots on goal off the feet of senior midfielder Jack Beck, sophomore midfielder Jack Zugay and redshirt senior defender Dante Morrissette.

They also tallied 10 fouls, one corner and one offsides. Freshman goalkeeper Lance McGrane, who made his debut as a substitute for typical senior Hunter Morse in the 62nd minute to finish out the game, collected one save.

The usual guys were seen less on the field this evening. While players like senior forward Farai Mutatu hopped off the field after 63 minutes, junior defender Nick Stone was the only one who racked up 90 minutes.

The Spartans, who are now 5-6-2 overall, 1-2-2 in conference, will host Ohio State at DeMartin Stadium next on Sunday, Oct. 17 for the annual Senior Day celebrations. The kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.

"Now we just have to recover and get back to Big Ten games," Rensing said. "Sunday is Senior Day and these guys have given a lot to this program.  We need to honor them and put forth an effort that they would be proud of."