In the first ever meeting between these two teams, it was Kansas City coming out on top, extending their win streak to 5 in East Lansing. MSU finished the month of October winless and extended a streak of their own as they now have gone four consecutive games without scoring.

The game plan was clear for Rensing: keep possession to build up in the attack and neutralize a strong Kansas City side. There was just one change to the starting lineup for MSU, as Guggemos retook the starting striker position in Rensing’s balanced 4-2-3-1 formation, providing stability throughout the pitch.

The Roos lined up in an uncommon 3-4-3 formation, trusting their defenders and adding an extra midfielder to fuel attacking opportunities. The solution to defending their complex setup was constant pressure — forcing mistakes from the back three and denying the midfield time to look up and create chances for the forwards.

That swarming pressure may work when the ball is in play; set pieces require a whole different game plan defensively and the Spartans couldn’t stop Kansas City who opened the scoring from a corner kick. Senior midfielder Timothy Ospina whipped in an out-swinging corner to the top of the box to fellow senior midfielder Rafael Kistmann and the Brazilian curled a shot into the bottom left corner in the 49th minute.

The Roos didn’t waste much time doubling their lead just 12 minutes later on a deadly counter attack. A quick break where Kansas City switched defense to attack in the blink of an eye carrying the ball down field drilling a cross in low on the ground to graduate forward Wade Muttitt who, despite being in prime position to score, wouldn’t be the one to get the final touch as senior defender Jake Spadafora would step in front, but it would deflect in for an own goal.

"You know, obviously we don’t want to give up the restart and the own goal. I think we’ll go back and look at what we can do better," Rensing said. "I think it was more on us, and I think things we can correct."

Kansas City are a very talented NCAA tournament-caliber team, and they put that on display specifically in the second half when they took over and never looked back, dominating the Spartans. The Roos have a really strong group making up their team with 17 players from different countries, including the goalscorer Kistmann from Brazil.

The highlight of the game for MSU was head coach Damon Rensing playing all seven graduating seniors, including first appearances of the season for Mason, Van De Winkle and goalkeeper Sly. With family and friends in attendance to celebrate Senior Day, the seniors all saw time on the field in front of their loved ones despite the result.

MSU men’s soccer will travel to Rutgers on Halloween for their penultimate season game.