Sunday, October 17
East Lansing, Mich.
2 PM
Michigan State University
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vs
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Ohio State
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/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's SoccerUnderclassmen Push MSU Soccer Past Ohio State on Senior Day
10/17/2021 6:02:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Spartans honored their 11 seniors after the game.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Behind the strength of its underclassmen, the Michigan State men's soccer team shut down Ohio State, 1-0, on Senior Day at DeMartin Stadium Sunday afternoon.
"I think this was a typical Big Ten soccer match. I was really proud of the boys and the way we played today," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "I thought we came out on the front foot pretty well. Ohio State is a good team, I know their record doesn't quite show that, but they've been in every game and definitely should have a few wins in conference play, and sometimes it just comes down to a play or two and was a great little two person combo on the corner kick and Vedad (Kovac) was ready and what a great time to get your first collegiate goal."
Michigan State evens out its record to 6-6-2 overall and 2-2-2 in Big Ten action, while Ohio State falls to 4-8-1 overall and 0-5-0 in league play.
Freshman goalkeeper Lance McGrane made his third start of the season, but it was his DeMartin Stadium debut. He earned his first collegiate clean sheet with the win. McGrane moves to 2-0-1 in his three starts this season. He also won at Notre Dame and tied in the Big Ten opener against Wisconsin on the road.
"Here you kind of learn from the best, we have Nick (goalkeeper coach Nick Barry), and then we have Hunter (Morse), (Andrew) Nicholsen and (Zac) Kelly, and it's a competition all the time," McGrane said. "We don't really have a one, two, three or fourth string or starters or anything like that, it's always next one up. You just keep learning from each other and balancing off each other, so it's just a constant competition and it drives all of us, so all of us would be ready for whatever situation that happens."
Sophomore midfielder Vedad Kovac scored what would become the game winning with just 30 seconds remaining in the first half. The play began with a short corner kick by senior midfielder Jack Beck which was sent out wide. Senior midfielder Michael Miller got the ball to fellow senior forward Farai Mutatu, who's shot was saved by OSU goalkeeper Noah Lawrence. Kovac took it from there and deposited the ball past Lawrence, giving MSU the 1-0 lead, for his first collegiate goal.
In the second half, both teams were in search of goals with OSU looking for the equalizer and MSU looking to put the game away. McGrane faced two shots on goal in the first six minutes of the second half, as the Buckeyes proved to be the aggressors. In the final 45 minutes, OSU had the 7-3 advantage in shots.
Michigan State had only one shot on goal in the second half, but the Spartan defense stood tall to earn the clean sheet.
After the game the Spartans honored its 11 seniors: Connor Brazil, Jack Beck, Brandon DeSmyter, Michael Miller, Luke Morrell, Dante Morrissette, Hunter Morse, Farai Mutatu, Olu Ogunwale, Will Perkins and Louis Sala.
"I'm very proud of the seniors in this group," Rensing said. "They've had to go through a lot if you think about the last four years for them, from being freshmen and going to the College Cup, to going through some injuries and the pandemic, and if you throw it all together, it's probably not exactly how they thought their four years would go, but I'm really proud of them. They've created a great culture here, they've given everything to the program and I just appreciate everything they've done."
"It was a special moment," Mutatu said about the post-game ceremony with his family. "It's crazy, it kind of flies by and we're already seniors. It was cool walking out with my family and just kind of reminisce about the last four years. I'm thankful to be here and thankful to make it this far and excited to keep going for the rest of the season."
Michigan State will remain DeMartin Stadium for its regular-season finale against No. 12 Maryland on Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
"I think this was a typical Big Ten soccer match. I was really proud of the boys and the way we played today," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "I thought we came out on the front foot pretty well. Ohio State is a good team, I know their record doesn't quite show that, but they've been in every game and definitely should have a few wins in conference play, and sometimes it just comes down to a play or two and was a great little two person combo on the corner kick and Vedad (Kovac) was ready and what a great time to get your first collegiate goal."
Michigan State evens out its record to 6-6-2 overall and 2-2-2 in Big Ten action, while Ohio State falls to 4-8-1 overall and 0-5-0 in league play.
Freshman goalkeeper Lance McGrane made his third start of the season, but it was his DeMartin Stadium debut. He earned his first collegiate clean sheet with the win. McGrane moves to 2-0-1 in his three starts this season. He also won at Notre Dame and tied in the Big Ten opener against Wisconsin on the road.
"Here you kind of learn from the best, we have Nick (goalkeeper coach Nick Barry), and then we have Hunter (Morse), (Andrew) Nicholsen and (Zac) Kelly, and it's a competition all the time," McGrane said. "We don't really have a one, two, three or fourth string or starters or anything like that, it's always next one up. You just keep learning from each other and balancing off each other, so it's just a constant competition and it drives all of us, so all of us would be ready for whatever situation that happens."
Sophomore midfielder Vedad Kovac scored what would become the game winning with just 30 seconds remaining in the first half. The play began with a short corner kick by senior midfielder Jack Beck which was sent out wide. Senior midfielder Michael Miller got the ball to fellow senior forward Farai Mutatu, who's shot was saved by OSU goalkeeper Noah Lawrence. Kovac took it from there and deposited the ball past Lawrence, giving MSU the 1-0 lead, for his first collegiate goal.
In the second half, both teams were in search of goals with OSU looking for the equalizer and MSU looking to put the game away. McGrane faced two shots on goal in the first six minutes of the second half, as the Buckeyes proved to be the aggressors. In the final 45 minutes, OSU had the 7-3 advantage in shots.
Michigan State had only one shot on goal in the second half, but the Spartan defense stood tall to earn the clean sheet.
After the game the Spartans honored its 11 seniors: Connor Brazil, Jack Beck, Brandon DeSmyter, Michael Miller, Luke Morrell, Dante Morrissette, Hunter Morse, Farai Mutatu, Olu Ogunwale, Will Perkins and Louis Sala.
"I'm very proud of the seniors in this group," Rensing said. "They've had to go through a lot if you think about the last four years for them, from being freshmen and going to the College Cup, to going through some injuries and the pandemic, and if you throw it all together, it's probably not exactly how they thought their four years would go, but I'm really proud of them. They've created a great culture here, they've given everything to the program and I just appreciate everything they've done."
"It was a special moment," Mutatu said about the post-game ceremony with his family. "It's crazy, it kind of flies by and we're already seniors. It was cool walking out with my family and just kind of reminisce about the last four years. I'm thankful to be here and thankful to make it this far and excited to keep going for the rest of the season."
Michigan State will remain DeMartin Stadium for its regular-season finale against No. 12 Maryland on Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
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