Win on Senior Day keeps home field advantage hopes alive for MSU in postseason
The day was all about the seniors. The game was all about the underclassmen.
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The day was all about the seniors. The game was all about the underclassmen.
In a midday Saturday Big Ten battle, MSU men's soccer beat Northwestern 2-1 in the last home game of the regular season at DeMartin Stadium.
Last year wasn’t easy for MSU head men’s soccer coach Damon Rensing, eighth-year head coach of the MSU men’s soccer team. With a career record of 88-56-30, five NCAA Tournament appearances and consecutive Elite Eight entries in 2013 and 2014, Rensing’s legacy with the team has been one of overall accomplishment, making last season’s 1-5 streak to finish the year all the more humbling.
The penultimate home game of the season against Yale was all about defending. After the one-goal loss to Penn State the weekend before, MSU shored up the back line and guarded the home turf, as an early goal for MSU allowed the Spartans to play conservatively for the rest of the game, which eventually settled 2-0 for the Spartans.
With a 2-1 victory against Akron, MSU men’s soccer earned their ninth win of the season, surpassing last year’s total with five games remaining.
It was bound to happen sooner or later — MSU finally found a game of zero separation.
For MSU, the Western Michigan University game was in many ways a point of inflection, around which the rest of the season could hinge.
Wednesday afternoon, Michigan State (8-2 record) returned to DeMartin Stadium to outlast in-state rivalry Western Michigan (8-3-1 record), by a final score of 2-1.
MSU is home to more than 50,000 students, 800 of which are student-athletes. Whether a student comes to MSU for academics or athletics, each year they have to make the decision to live on campus or off campus.
To be a defender or a goalkeeper — that was the question for a young Jimmy Hague. Hague had played soccer his whole life, but the choice to velcro up the gloves and slip on the long-sleeved jersey was a defining one in his athletic career, and one both he and MSU head soccer coach Damon Rensing are happy he made.
The stormy weather mirrored the game. There was nothing elegant about the way MSU avoided its first back-to-back loss results of the season, but the Spartans trudged through the storm to beat Bowling Green, 1-0.
Junior midfielder Brad Centala had never hoisted the Big Bear Trophy and neither had redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jimmy Hague.
In the Battle for the Big Bear Trophy, MSU edged Michigan 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium. The game was evenly challenged throughout, with the two teams nearly identical in their attacking position and efforts at goal, but MSU exuded the necessary composure both offensively and defensively in the definitive moments.
Junior attacking midfielder Ken Krolicki was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, according to MSU Athletic Communications.
In the season's Big Ten season opener, MSU (3-1) defeated Rutgers (0-4) 4-0 on Friday afternoon. The Spartans had to wait for the breakthrough, as it took an entire first half of possession and eight shots before sophomore forward Ryan Sierakowski finally netted a free kick 21 seconds before the halftime. Then, the goals poured, with many second-half chances and conversions.
With so much building up to the start of the conference season, head coach Damon Rensing said MSU delivered their “most complete game” of the season when MSU, (3-1), defeated Rutgers, (0-4), 4-0 Friday afternoon.
In episode three, The State News sports editor Casey Harrison and Stephen Olschanski talk Tom Izzo's induction into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the absurdity of the NFL, MSU football's bye week and give you their picks for college football's biggest games of the weekend.
The MSU men’s soccer team has been a melting pot of shortcomings and resilience three games into the regular season. As the Spartans have hinted at both a superb season and a disappointing one, they will be tested on Friday afternoon with the Big Ten regular season beginning at home against Rutgers.
As students flock back to campus and incoming freshmen take in the wonders of MSU’s massive landscape, they might hear a rumbling noise coming from Spartan Stadium or Jenison Field House. Just as students return to their dorms and houses, the student athletes embark on a new season of fall sports.