MSU Soccer Ties Purdue Fort Wayne in Exhibition Opener Saturday

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Michigan State men's soccer tied its exhibition opener against Purdue Fort Wayne, 2-2, Saturday afternoon at Hefner Soccer Complex.

"It was our first preseason game, and we have a lot of positives to take away from it. Purdue Fort Wayne is a well-coached team and they put us in some moments that we can get better at as well," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "Anytime you are playing these games, you want to make sure that you are succeeding in some things, challenging and fighting where you can grow. I think we got that today."

The Spartans out-shot the Mastadons, 11-5, including 10-3 in the second half alone.

"It was 0-0 at halftime, and I thought the response from the guys was really good. We are excited to get back and look at the film, and get ready for a really good Pitt team next week," Rensing said.

Sophomore forward Jake Spadafora and senior midfielder Vedad Kovac provided the offense for Michigan State with a pair of second-half goals. Overall, 21 of the 25 players on the Spartan roster saw action.

"On a side note we would like to thank an alum Jim Casaburo who fed the team at Casa Ristorante. He always does a great job for us when we are in Fort Wayne. We are really thankful he took such great care of the team," Rensing added.

The Spartans will play at Pittsburgh on Friday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. in their second exhibition before opening the regular-season on Thursday, Aug. 24 vs. Loyola Chicago at 7 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

Vedad Kovac

Jake Spadafora