Monday, March 15
Bloomington, Ind.
5 PM
Michigan State University
2-4-0, 2-4-0
1
at
2
No. 23 Indiana
4-1-0, 4-1-0
1
2
F
Michigan State
1
0
1
Indiana
0
2
2
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications
Michigan State Men’s Soccer Clipped By No. 23 Indiana On Late Goal
3/15/2021 8:54:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Short-handed Spartans push nationally-ranked Hoosiers to brink.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Michigan State men's soccer had an early lead at No. 23 Indiana Monday afternoon, before the Hoosiers netted two second-half goals, including the game-winning goal in the final minutes, to top the short-handed Spartans, 2-1, at a cold and rain-drenched IU Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
The Spartans slid to 2-4-0 on the season, with two of the losses coming on one-goal matches. IU improved to 4-1 with the win, as the Spartan goal was just the second goal allowed by the Hoosiers.
"I was really proud of our boys today, tough result there, but the ball just didn't bounce our way," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "It was a dead even game when you look at those statistics with corners, saves, shots."
IU had a slight, 9-6, edge in shots, and a 3-2 shots on goal advantage, but MSU had a 5-4 edge in corners.
The Spartans got on the board first in the 25th minute on a leaping header from junior midfielder Luke Morrell off a corner kick from fellow junior midfielder Louis Sala. It was Morrell's first goal as a Spartan, while Sala also tallied his first point for the Green & White. Sala served a nice loft into the box, where Morrell rose about the mob and headed a laser into the back of the net past IU keeper Roman Celentano. Morrell and his teammates then did belly slides on the wet grass to celebrate.
Less than four minutes later, the Spartans were on the attack again, with junior forward Farai Mutatu firing a shot that Celentano made a diving save, denying Mutatu of the goal and the Spartans of their second goal of the match.
While MSU missed out on making it 2-0, senior goalkeeper Isiah Handspike made sure that it wasn't 1-1 at half, as he made a close-range save and follow-up save last in the half, preserving the Spartans' 1-0 lead.
"Our guys had a great first half, and were probably unlucky not to be up 2-0, their keeper made a very good save to keep it at 1-0," Rensing said. "We just had a lot of things working against us today, and I was just really proud of how the boys dug in and gave us everything. I thought their mentality was very good from start to finish and that's what we asked from our guys. They're growing as a team and we're getting better and better, and unfortunately in this conference there's no room to rest, because we'll have a Maryland team who's sitting on a bye and will be ready for us on Friday."
The second half started just like the first with back and forth action, before Mutatu went down with an injury in the 59th minute, becoming the fifth Spartan started to be on the bench for the action.
IU capitalized minutes later, as Victor Bezerra fired a shot that deflected off a Spartan defender and changed directions, eluding Handspike on the way to the back of the net and leveled the match.
The Spartans and Hoosiers continued to clash, searching for the go-ahead and game-winning goal, but both teams' defenses were resolute to the challenge. That changed in the 88th minute, when IU earned a free kick from approximately 30-yards out and after ball skipped and bounced around off the wet grass and soggy boots and socks of several players, before Daniel Munie touched it last on the way into the goal and the Hoosier victory.
MSU remains on the road for its next match, traveling to College Park, Md., to take on the Maryland Terrapins on Friday, March 19. UMD is 2-3 on the season after knocking off No. 6 Michigan, 2-1, on March 11 at the Legacy Center in Brighton, Mich. Friday's battle between the Spartans and Terrapins is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
The Spartans slid to 2-4-0 on the season, with two of the losses coming on one-goal matches. IU improved to 4-1 with the win, as the Spartan goal was just the second goal allowed by the Hoosiers.
"I was really proud of our boys today, tough result there, but the ball just didn't bounce our way," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "It was a dead even game when you look at those statistics with corners, saves, shots."
IU had a slight, 9-6, edge in shots, and a 3-2 shots on goal advantage, but MSU had a 5-4 edge in corners.
The Spartans got on the board first in the 25th minute on a leaping header from junior midfielder Luke Morrell off a corner kick from fellow junior midfielder Louis Sala. It was Morrell's first goal as a Spartan, while Sala also tallied his first point for the Green & White. Sala served a nice loft into the box, where Morrell rose about the mob and headed a laser into the back of the net past IU keeper Roman Celentano. Morrell and his teammates then did belly slides on the wet grass to celebrate.
Center Back Goal!!@luke_morrell w/ a memorable 1st career goal in a Spartan uniform with a rocket of a header in the 25th min. off the corner by @louis2sala.
— MSU Men's Soccer (@MSUmsoccer) March 15, 2021
The Spartans celebrated with a fantastic belly slide in the rain!
MSU 1
IU 0#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/dlbOQR9zHp
Less than four minutes later, the Spartans were on the attack again, with junior forward Farai Mutatu firing a shot that Celentano made a diving save, denying Mutatu of the goal and the Spartans of their second goal of the match.
While MSU missed out on making it 2-0, senior goalkeeper Isiah Handspike made sure that it wasn't 1-1 at half, as he made a close-range save and follow-up save last in the half, preserving the Spartans' 1-0 lead.
Handspike with the save... and another one!!@Isiahhandspike with back-to-back saves late in the first half to keep it a 1-0 Spartan advantage!#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/RoH2IH7LhV
— MSU Men's Soccer (@MSUmsoccer) March 15, 2021
"Our guys had a great first half, and were probably unlucky not to be up 2-0, their keeper made a very good save to keep it at 1-0," Rensing said. "We just had a lot of things working against us today, and I was just really proud of how the boys dug in and gave us everything. I thought their mentality was very good from start to finish and that's what we asked from our guys. They're growing as a team and we're getting better and better, and unfortunately in this conference there's no room to rest, because we'll have a Maryland team who's sitting on a bye and will be ready for us on Friday."
The second half started just like the first with back and forth action, before Mutatu went down with an injury in the 59th minute, becoming the fifth Spartan started to be on the bench for the action.
IU capitalized minutes later, as Victor Bezerra fired a shot that deflected off a Spartan defender and changed directions, eluding Handspike on the way to the back of the net and leveled the match.
The Spartans and Hoosiers continued to clash, searching for the go-ahead and game-winning goal, but both teams' defenses were resolute to the challenge. That changed in the 88th minute, when IU earned a free kick from approximately 30-yards out and after ball skipped and bounced around off the wet grass and soggy boots and socks of several players, before Daniel Munie touched it last on the way into the goal and the Hoosier victory.
MSU remains on the road for its next match, traveling to College Park, Md., to take on the Maryland Terrapins on Friday, March 19. UMD is 2-3 on the season after knocking off No. 6 Michigan, 2-1, on March 11 at the Legacy Center in Brighton, Mich. Friday's battle between the Spartans and Terrapins is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
Team Stats
MSU
IU
Goals
1
2
Shots
6
9
Shots on Goal
2
3
Saves
1
1
Corners
5
4
Fouls
15
12
Scoring Plays
Luke Morrell (1)
Assisted By: Louis Sala
GOAL by MSU Morrell, Luke Assist by Sala, Louis.
24:04
Victor Bezerra (5)
Assisted By: Brett Bebej
GOAL by IU Bezerra, Victor Assist by Bebej, Brett.
61:29
Daniel Munie (2)
Assisted By: Spencer Glass
GOAL by IU Munie, Daniel Assist by Glass, Spencer.
87:20
Game Leaders
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
mid
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Men's SoccerM
/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's SoccerM
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