Midfielder Peter Soudan forced a mistake from the Oakland backline with relentless pressure, won the ball, and used a brilliant shot fake to create an open look at goal, which he calmly slotted into the bottom right corner to open the scoring for Michigan State. The 17th-minute strike marked the first-year midfielder's first goal in Green and White.

“Great feeling to be able to slide into the corner," Soudan said. "Finally get that first one in the net and hopefully more to come." 

Just 5 minutes later a long shot from midfielder Miles Merritt would take a touch from Luke Spadafora and cause trouble for Oaklands keeper Cole Thompson finding the bottom right corner, making it 2-0 Spartans. Peter Soudan was again involved, this time in the build-up, receiving credit for an assist alongside Miles Merritt.

Less than 3 minutes after the second, it was Miles Merritt again, this time scoring from his shot from the right side of the box, firing it low into the bottom left corner in the 25th minute. Midfielder Jack Guggemos was credited with an assist in the build-up play with the final pass coming from Luke Spadafora, who also received assist credit, increasing the Spartans lead to 3 goals.

Oakland would grab a goal of their own in the 30th minute to give them some life. A corner kick from forward Marco Mazzei would find the head of Evan Combs before taking a heavy deflection off MSU defender Josh Adam, creating too much of a problem for Zac Kelley to keep out of his goal.

Michigan State earned a corner kick not long after, creating an incredibly chaotic sequence of events as Miles Merrit would find the head of defender Jared Smid, which hit the post along with back-to-back shots from Chimnosoh Okeke and Will Eby, which would also strike the woodwork before finally being cleared by the Grizzlies' defense.

MSU went on a dominant run, scoring 3 goals in just 7 minutes of play, breaking down Oakland's defense completely and taking a 3-1 lead into the half.

The Spartans would come out of the half attacking and having a pinballing opportunity which led to contact on Jake Spadafora in the Oakland box caused for review of a potential penalty which would not be given.

MSU built off the early penalty review by maintaining relentless pressure and staying on the attack. Peter Soudan led the charge in many of these opportunities, continuing his stellar performance with several shots and a dangerous cross from a left corner kick that troubled Oakland’s keeper and struck the crossbar.

The Golden Grizzlies weren’t backing down, however, as Tim Allos would find the back of the net from some messy defending from the Spartans in the 70th minute. Noah Roka and Jace Foster were crucial in the buildup, taking Zac Kelley off his line and centering the ball into the box where Allos would put it away. Oakland cut the deficit to 1 goal, making the score 3-2.

Oakland completely shifted the momentum and began pressing hard on Michigan State’s goal, forcing a big save from Kelley. The rebound led to a scuffle in the box, during which the senior shot-stopper clipped an Oakland attacker’s ankle—prompting a lengthy penalty review for the visitors. However, no penalty was ultimately awarded.

The Oakland pressure would not stop there as Noah Roka would drive from midfield pass Jake Spadafora down the left wing and whip in a cross which would find the head of Jace Foster and force a goal-line save from Kelley and a follow-up forcing a goal-line clearance from the Spartan Defense.

“We talked about trying to play and establish our game for 75, 80 minutes, and then, depending on the score of the last 10 minutes, you maybe have to make some adjustments," said head coach Rensing. “Every time we gave up a goal, I thought we came right back and was on the attack”.

Michigan State responded with pressure of their own, as Jake Spadafora was found on the right wing with a beautiful ball over the top of the defense. He delivered a low cross into the center of the box, finding Guggemos, who fired a clear shot over the goal—allowing Oakland to breathe a huge sigh of relief at the missed opportunity.

The Spartans would ultimately keep their composure defensively and hold off the Oakland pressure late in the game, winning 3-2 in a back-and-forth goal fest.

The Spartans will next travel to face Washington in Seattle on Sept. 12 at 10:30 p.m.