Monday, September 8
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
3-2-0, 0-0-0
3
vs
2
Oakland
0-3-3, 0-0-0
1
2
F
Oakland
1
1
2
Michigan St.
3
0
3
First-Half Flurry Leads Spartans Past Oakland
9/8/2025 10:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Michigan State scored three goals in the first half to set the pace.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Three different Spartans found the back of the net, as Michigan State men's soccer powered past Oakland, 3-2, Monday night at DeMartin Stadium.
The Spartans improved to 3-2 with the win, including 3-0 at home. The Golden Grizzlies fall to 0-3-3 this season, playing three different Big Ten teams.
"We were really good to start the game. We were actually really good for large spells of the game," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "We were clearly the better team tonight. Obviously to start out and get three goals within 25 minutes or so was special. Being in this for 17 years, you actually almost do expect the game to come back when they score in the start. We have to get a little better there, that 3-1 gave them a little hope. But we were dominant for 44 minutes and 30 seconds in that first half."
Michigan State got on the board early in the 18th minute. Freshman midfielder Peter Soudan scored his first collegiate goal to start the barrage of scoring. Soudan stole the ball from an Oakland defender and launched the ball to the lower right corner past OU goalkeeper Cole Thompson.
Less than five minutes later, the Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead. In the 23rd minute, Soudan started the play on the left side of the field, finding junior midfielder Miles Merritt. The midfielder then found freshman midfielder Luke Spadafora inside the six-yard box for the goal. Spadafora now has two goals on the season.
The Spartans weren't done yet scoring in the 25th minute. This time Merritt scored his second goal of the season off assists from Luke Spadafora and Jack Guggemos. Soudan, Spadafora and Merritt all had three points on the day.
Before the end of the half, the Grizzlies got one back in the 31st minute. Evan Combs scored off a re-start with the assist going to Marco Mazzei.
"We were hammering it this week in training, starting fast, against Bowling Green we really struggled with that, so it was just a huge thing Coach Rensing and the staff were saying, we gotta get on them early, and we were able to do that to control the game," Soudan said. "That's soccer. Momentum shifts are going to happen, I was just proud in the way that we stuck together. We had a rough five minutes where they could've scored, they had a couple of checks for penalties and stuff like that, but after that we saw the warning signs, and we really bounced back and held strong for the win."
In the 66th minute, Oakland continue to applied pressure with Tim Allos scoring his second goal of the season to make it a 3-2 game.
Both teams had late opportunities, but the score remained 3-2.
"We have two great groups here, our student section, the Red Cedar Rowdies are awesome, and then we have a great local soccer community. The local soccer community is deep and they come out and support us really well. For a Monday night, to have over a thousand fans is awesome," Rensing added.
Michigan State out-shot Oakland 22-9 overall, including 16-3 in the first half.
The Spartans now head West to open Big Ten play at Washington on Friday, Sept. 12 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The Spartans improved to 3-2 with the win, including 3-0 at home. The Golden Grizzlies fall to 0-3-3 this season, playing three different Big Ten teams.
"We were really good to start the game. We were actually really good for large spells of the game," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "We were clearly the better team tonight. Obviously to start out and get three goals within 25 minutes or so was special. Being in this for 17 years, you actually almost do expect the game to come back when they score in the start. We have to get a little better there, that 3-1 gave them a little hope. But we were dominant for 44 minutes and 30 seconds in that first half."
Michigan State got on the board early in the 18th minute. Freshman midfielder Peter Soudan scored his first collegiate goal to start the barrage of scoring. Soudan stole the ball from an Oakland defender and launched the ball to the lower right corner past OU goalkeeper Cole Thompson.
Less than five minutes later, the Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead. In the 23rd minute, Soudan started the play on the left side of the field, finding junior midfielder Miles Merritt. The midfielder then found freshman midfielder Luke Spadafora inside the six-yard box for the goal. Spadafora now has two goals on the season.
The Spartans weren't done yet scoring in the 25th minute. This time Merritt scored his second goal of the season off assists from Luke Spadafora and Jack Guggemos. Soudan, Spadafora and Merritt all had three points on the day.
Before the end of the half, the Grizzlies got one back in the 31st minute. Evan Combs scored off a re-start with the assist going to Marco Mazzei.
"We were hammering it this week in training, starting fast, against Bowling Green we really struggled with that, so it was just a huge thing Coach Rensing and the staff were saying, we gotta get on them early, and we were able to do that to control the game," Soudan said. "That's soccer. Momentum shifts are going to happen, I was just proud in the way that we stuck together. We had a rough five minutes where they could've scored, they had a couple of checks for penalties and stuff like that, but after that we saw the warning signs, and we really bounced back and held strong for the win."
In the 66th minute, Oakland continue to applied pressure with Tim Allos scoring his second goal of the season to make it a 3-2 game.
Both teams had late opportunities, but the score remained 3-2.
"We have two great groups here, our student section, the Red Cedar Rowdies are awesome, and then we have a great local soccer community. The local soccer community is deep and they come out and support us really well. For a Monday night, to have over a thousand fans is awesome," Rensing added.
Michigan State out-shot Oakland 22-9 overall, including 16-3 in the first half.
The Spartans now head West to open Big Ten play at Washington on Friday, Sept. 12 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Team Stats
OU
MSU
Goals
2
3
Shots
9
22
Shots on Goal
7
6
Saves
3
4
Corners
2
5
Fouls
13
3
Scoring Plays
Peter Soudan (1)
GOAL by MSU Soudan, Peter.
17:42
Luke Spadafora (2)
Assisted By: Peter Soudan , Miles Merritt
GOAL by MSU Spadafora, Luke Assist by Soudan, Peter and Merritt, Miles.
22:26
Miles Merritt (2)
Assisted By: Luke Spadafora , Jack Guggemos
GOAL by MSU Merritt, Miles Assist by Spadafora, Luke and Guggemos, Jack.
24:53
Evan Combs (1)
Assisted By: Marco Mazzei
GOAL by OU Combs, Evan Assist by Mazzei, Marco.
30:07
Tim Allos (2)
Assisted By: Jace Foster , Noah Roka
GOAL by OU Allos, Tim Assist by Foster, Jace and Roka, Noah.
65:45
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
5
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
M
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