The deciding moment came in the 63rd minute, when junior forward Jake Spadafora broke free behind the Northwestern defense and cut the ball back to junior midfielder Jack Guggemos, who tucked it away with confidence.

It was a crucial goal, one MSU's defense ensured would be enough.

MSU head coach Damon Rensing's talented back line looked sharper than ever.

"I might have to give Oakland University a lot of credit in them beating us 3-0 prior to the conference," Rensing said postgame. "I think it really put a fire in us."

The Spartans were also relentless in their attack, creating four clear-cut opportunities within a five-minute span, but struggled to find the finishing touch as multiple shots dragged just wide of the post. Despite the one-goal lead, it felt like MSU was on the verge of doubling it.

"The good thing is we’re getting shutouts. We’re also creating a ton of chances," Rensing said. "At some point, we’re going to have to score more than one goal."

The match mirrored MSU's 1-0 victory at UCLA last Friday with another superb defensive display, exemplified by sophomore defender Will Eby's acrobatic clearance in the 88th minute to halt a Wildcat counter.

Senior forward Levin Gerhardt controlled the midfield for much of the game, while redshirt junior Zac Kelly made critical saves to preserve the clean sheet, including a low parry to deny graduate forward Thaddaeus Dewing in the 51st minute.

Kelly, the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week, turned in another sound performance, securing four saves.

"Back-to-back clean sheets, it’s huge," Kelly said. 

Junior defender Jeremy Sharp's 22nd-minute run created the biggest chance of the first half, squaring the ball to senior midfielder Shion Soga, whose shot was blocked on the line.

MSU sophomore midfielder Colin Arce started the match, replacing freshman forward Mohamed Saad from last week's lineup. MSU set up in a clear 4-2-3-1 formation.

Starting with confidence, MSU dominated early possession. The Spartans held 55% of the overall possession at the break.

Though Northwestern remained a threat on the counter, MSU’s defense was impenetrable. The Wildcats’ last-ditch attempts in the closing moments couldn’t break through as the Spartans held firm for their third clean sheet in four games.

MSU has been a different team as of late. Many wrote off the Spartans after their lackluster performances in the build-up to conference play. As Rensing mentioned, its 3-0 loss at Oakland on Sept. 9 in Rochester was seemingly the catalyst.

"We were just too wide open and not connected, and sometimes we can talk about it in training and you can work on those things, but at some point, maybe you just need to see it," Rensing said.

MSU has looked strong despite collecting just one win in its non-conference slate. The Spartans are 4-4-2, with three of the four victories coming in Big Ten play.

MSU's evolution has been clear, currently second in the Big Ten. While the squad is struggling to score, its defense has risen to the occasion on a regular basis.