Team Stats
RU
MSU
Goals
2
0
Shots
11
8
Shots on Goal
4
5
Saves
5
2
Corners
3
4
Fouls
13
9
Scoring Plays

Ritchie Barry (1)
Assisted By: Jackson Temple
from right side to lower left corner
15:12

Colin Beasley (1)
Assisted By: Jackson Temple
slicing from right to left
52:19
Game Leaders
Players
Players Mentioned

Michigan State Men’s Soccer Drops Season Opener to Rutgers
2/19/2021 5:40:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Spartans lose their first-ever match to the Scarlet Knights.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - In an unusual home opener, the Michigan State men's soccer team fell to Rutgers, 2-0, at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan on Friday.
The indoor dome at Schoolcraft acted as the Spartans home for the first game of the season due to inclement weather in East Lansing.
Michigan State falls to 0-1 overall, while Rutgers improves to 1-0. This was MSU's first-ever loss to the Scarlet Knights, holding a 5-1-1 mark against Rutgers.
"Obviously, we haven't played in 15 months, but I think our offense didn't have a lot of teeth in it today. We actually did a decent job of getting into some decent spots. I just think we played anxious at times. I was a little surprised on the type of goals that we gave up, but Rutgers has some really good players that punished us on a couple of our mistakes. I wouldn't be surprised if we had more possession, but we didn't take care of the two thirds of the feel that matter," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said.
The Spartans debuted a very different lineup than played in the final game of the season in November of 2019. Only five players started today that started MSU's last game against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament on Nov. 10, 2019, including Hunter Morse, Jack Beck, Nick Stone, Michael Miller and Farai Mutatu.
Rutgers struck first in the 16th minute with Ritchie Barry's first goal of the season. Jackson Temple earned the first of two assists on the day as Barry slipped the past redshirt-junior Hunter Morse, as the Scarlet Knights took a 1-0 lead.
The Spartan offense was slow to get going with only one shot in the first half, as RU held on to the one goal advantage through 45 minutes.
"We wanted to see how our spacing was and our overall team shape. I think that stuff was pretty good. It is a pretty new backline. (Will) Perkins didn't play in 2019 because of injury; (Nick) Stone was a freshman and we added (Dante) Morrissette and (Connor) Brazil. I think we have to be a little bit better in the attacking third, but I think that offense takes a little while to get going," Rensing added.
In the second half, the pace picked up on both sides, but once again it was the Scarlet Knights who found the back of the net in the 53rd minute. Colin Beasley scored a similar goal with a ball from Temple. Beasley sliced the ball from the right side to give Rutgers a 2-0 lead.
The shot count was equal in the second half with seven each, but MSU could not break through. Mutatu and freshman midfielder Jack Zugay led the way with two shots apiece.
Michigan State will now hit the road, taking on in-state rival Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Brighton, Michigan.
The indoor dome at Schoolcraft acted as the Spartans home for the first game of the season due to inclement weather in East Lansing.
Michigan State falls to 0-1 overall, while Rutgers improves to 1-0. This was MSU's first-ever loss to the Scarlet Knights, holding a 5-1-1 mark against Rutgers.
"Obviously, we haven't played in 15 months, but I think our offense didn't have a lot of teeth in it today. We actually did a decent job of getting into some decent spots. I just think we played anxious at times. I was a little surprised on the type of goals that we gave up, but Rutgers has some really good players that punished us on a couple of our mistakes. I wouldn't be surprised if we had more possession, but we didn't take care of the two thirds of the feel that matter," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said.
The Spartans debuted a very different lineup than played in the final game of the season in November of 2019. Only five players started today that started MSU's last game against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament on Nov. 10, 2019, including Hunter Morse, Jack Beck, Nick Stone, Michael Miller and Farai Mutatu.
Rutgers struck first in the 16th minute with Ritchie Barry's first goal of the season. Jackson Temple earned the first of two assists on the day as Barry slipped the past redshirt-junior Hunter Morse, as the Scarlet Knights took a 1-0 lead.
The Spartan offense was slow to get going with only one shot in the first half, as RU held on to the one goal advantage through 45 minutes.
"We wanted to see how our spacing was and our overall team shape. I think that stuff was pretty good. It is a pretty new backline. (Will) Perkins didn't play in 2019 because of injury; (Nick) Stone was a freshman and we added (Dante) Morrissette and (Connor) Brazil. I think we have to be a little bit better in the attacking third, but I think that offense takes a little while to get going," Rensing added.
In the second half, the pace picked up on both sides, but once again it was the Scarlet Knights who found the back of the net in the 53rd minute. Colin Beasley scored a similar goal with a ball from Temple. Beasley sliced the ball from the right side to give Rutgers a 2-0 lead.
The shot count was equal in the second half with seven each, but MSU could not break through. Mutatu and freshman midfielder Jack Zugay led the way with two shots apiece.
Michigan State will now hit the road, taking on in-state rival Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Brighton, Michigan.
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