Michigan State University
Valparaiso
Spartans Drop 2-1 Decision to Valparaiso
9/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sep 8, 2013
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's soccer team recorded the first loss of the season as the team fell to Valparaiso, 2-1 on Sunday at DeMartin Stadium. The Spartans own a 2-1-0 record, while the Crusaders are 1-0-3 on the season.
"There's not an easy win in Division I soccer," said head coach Damon Rensing. "We hammer that home. They were sharp, they were smart. We just didn't deal with some things. We need guys out there who are going to make good decisions and we just weren't very sharp on our decision-making and execution. When you do that, you give a team like Valparaiso a chance. I thought we gave them a chance and they took advantage of it. We need to be ready to go for Detroit, because if we're not they're jumping at the chance to beat Michigan State, as well. We need to focus on being a winning team and doing the things it takes to win and not just always looking to be on the ball."
Both teams were aggressive out of the gate, looking for possession to make an attack. The Spartans missed out on two dangerous opportunities off headers from Adam Montague in the first half, while Jay Chapman had a ball played in that led to a strike on goal that was gathered up the Valparaiso keeper.
The Crusaders caught the Spartan defense off guard as Todd Vervynckt scored the first goal MSU has allowed this season off a deflection inside the 18 off an assist from Yannick Iwunze in the 22nd minute.
The first half concluded with just 10 combined shots for both teams.
Michigan State reorganized and responded in the second half, with early chances coming from a Montague header that was sent just over the bar. A long corner kick from Ryan Thelen forced the Crusader keeper out of the box to make a save.
A corner kick from Thelen set up a header for Kevin Cope sent into the goal off a directional header from Ryan Keener to give MSU the equalizer in the 66th minute. It is Cope's second goal of the season, the third of his career.
In the 78th minute, Nick Sucker of Valparaiso shot in the ball from a rebound just past Bennett to put the Crusaders up 2-0. The Spartans kept possession late in the second half to try to make an opportunity for another equalizer, including a shot just wide of the goal from Sean Conerty, but MSU ran out of time.
The Crusaders were issued two yellow cards in the game that saw a total of 21 fouls.
The Spartans will be back in action as they travel to their first road match against Detroit on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. Continuing their travel, MSU will take on Marquette in Milwaukee, Wis., on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 4 p.m.
