MSU Men’s Soccer Nipped By No. 5 Pitt Panthers In Final Exhibition

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Michigan State men's soccer was edged at No. 5 Pittsburgh, 4-3, Friday night at Pitt's Ambrose Urbanic Field at Peterson Sports Complex in MSU's final exhibition before the 2023 regular-season gets underway.

The Spartans rallied from down 3-0 in the first half, but were unable to tally the equalizer in their final tune-up before next week's 2023 opener.

"It was a crazy exhibition game. We didn't come out as well as we would have liked, dropping down 3-0 in the first half," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "You have to give our team credit. We battled back and scored two goals in the first eight minutes of the second half. They went up 4-2, before we made it 4-3. We missed a couple breakaways that could have actually tied the game."

Down 3-0 at halftime, Michigan State mounted a comeback in the second stanza, boosted by a brace from senior midfielder Vedad Kovac off the bench, netting his first goal of the night in the 51st minute on a penalty kick. Three minutes later, Kovac found the back of the net again, this time off an assist from senior defender Elijah Howe to pull the Green & White within, 3-2. The pair of goals by Kovac Friday night gives him three goals in the Spartans' two exhibition matches, the only MSU player to score in both contests.

Pitt netted its fourth goal of the night in the 65th minute for a 4-2 advantage. However, the Spartans didn't go quietly into the Steel City night, as they continued their resolute attack, which was rewarded in the 84th minute by junior midfielder Sean Kerrigan's penalty kick, MSU's second goal from the spot in the match, to pull within, 4-3, but were unable to net the equalizer.

The Panthers had a slim, 11-9, edge in shots on the night, while the Spartans had a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. There were 26 fouls whistled in the match, with three yellow cards issued, two to the home team, and one to visiting MSU.

Michigan State's two goalkeepers were split evenly with 45 minutes apiece, with redshirt-sophomore Zac Kelly making two saves in the first half, and redshirt-senior Andrew Nicholsen playing the entire second 45 minutes. The Spartans netted two goals off Pitt starting goalie Cabral Cater in his 77 minutes of action, and one off Jack Moxom in the final 13 minutes.

"This is a very good Pitt team to play on the road, and we got to play a couple of different systems. So, I feel really good about where the teams is after two exhibitions. We learned a lot about this team. We will get home and train a little bit and rest, and then all eyes will be on a good Loyola Chicago team," Rensing said.

The Michigan State men will play nine regular-season contests in the 2023 season, beginning with home games against Loyola-Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m., and Bowling Green on MSU Student Appreciation Night on Monday, Aug. 28, also at 7 p.m. Both matches are at DeMartin Stadium.

Fans can contact the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information.

MSU Men’s Soccer Nipped By No. 5 Pitt Panthers In Final Exhibition

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Players Mentioned

Elijah Howe

Zac Kelly

Sean Kerrigan

Vedad Kovac

Andrew Nicholsen