Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics:
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State men’s soccer blanked Bowling Green, 3-0, Monday night in MSU’s first complete 90-minute contest, at a packed and spirited DeMartin Stadium.
The Spartans’ initial season-opener against Loyola Chicago last Thursday was washed away due to severe inclement weather in the East Lansing area halted the match in the 54th minute with Michigan State holding a 1-0 lead, and was declared a no-contest.
“I am just happy for the guys; they played really well,” MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. “We talked about competing together tonight, not just competing. They did a really good job of that. One of our focuses with a lot of new guys in the backline and in goal is that we want to get clean sheets. So we very glad to be able to get a shutout. I was very glad to see our help come from a lot of different areas. Overall, we played against a very good Bowling Green team. They have been in the NCAA Tournament two of the last three years. They are a very spirited team, and they are really well coached. I have a lot of respect for them.
Monday’s weather was perfect for soccer and complete without any inclement weather, and MSU got the night’s festivities going by getting on the board in the 37th minute Monday night on a tap-in on a set piece off a corner kick by junior forward Efosa Emovon, who had just came on as a substitute seconds before the corner kick, and his first touch of the match was not only the Spartans’ first official goal of the season, but also the first goal of his Spartan career.
Sophomore defender Jeremy Sharp took the corner and lofted the ball to the far post, where fellow sophomore defender Josh Mason headed the ball in front of the goal and Emovon tapped it in, sparking the Red Cedar Rowdies’ green smoke celebration.
The 1-0 lead held for the rest of the half, and into halftime. BGSU threatened, but was turned away time and again by the MSU defense. MSU got a man advantage in the 44th minute after a red card was issued to a Bowling Green player.
Michigan State clung to its one-goal advantage behind solid defense as the short-handed Falcons pressed for the equalizer. The outcome remained in doubt until the 82nd minute when sophomore forward Jake Spadafora got a nice through pass from sophomore midfielder Jack Guggemos, and slotted it home for the 2-nil lead.
“Jack’s my man. I’ve got chemistry with him; he was my roommate last year. I am very thankful for him and to score,” Spadafora said. “It felt great to get out here. We came out here knowing we had something to prove and we did today. We are very thankful for that opportunity.”
The Spartans iced the match in the 84th minute, again coming off a corner after BG goalkeeper Brendan Graves punched out the initial corner. However, it only went as far as senior midfielder Jack Zugay just outside the 18-yard box, and he settled it and lined up a shot to the left post, and freshman midfielder Colin Arce flicked it into the back of the net to secure the Victory for MSU.
Michigan State ended with a 13-8 shots advantage, including 7-2 in shots on goal. MSU also doubled up BGSU, 6-3, in corner kicks.
Spartan redshirt-sophomore net-minder Zac Kelly made two saves on the night, highlighted by a one-handed save in the 29th minute, keeping BG off the scoreboard. Graves ended with four saves for the Falcons.
“Kelly was massive today,” Spadafora added. “He made a huge save in the first half that really put us under way and gave us the motivation we needed to get back into the game. The backline was confident and strong and they gave us what we needed to play the best we can today. Very thankful for this start and hopefully more.”
Monday night was Move-In Madness at DeMartin, with MSU students getting free t-shirts before the game, and the spirited Red Cedar Rowdies and the packed house of 2,098 in attendance helped cheer on the Spartans to victory.
The Spartans now hit the road for a pair of games on the East Coast. Michigan State will face Army on Friday, Sept. 1 and Villanova on Monday, Sept. 4 at 3 p.m.
Michigan State returns home to DeMartin Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 7 to host Dayton at 7 p.m. on MSU’s “Ted Lasso Night.”
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State men’s soccer blanked Bowling Green, 3-0, Monday night in MSU’s first complete 90-minute contest, at a packed and spirited DeMartin Stadium.
The Spartans’ initial season-opener against Loyola Chicago last Thursday was washed away due to severe inclement weather in the East Lansing area halted the match in the 54th minute with Michigan State holding a 1-0 lead, and was declared a no-contest.
“I am just happy for the guys; they played really well,” MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. “We talked about competing together tonight, not just competing. They did a really good job of that. One of our focuses with a lot of new guys in the backline and in goal is that we want to get clean sheets. So we very glad to be able to get a shutout. I was very glad to see our help come from a lot of different areas. Overall, we played against a very good Bowling Green team. They have been in the NCAA Tournament two of the last three years. They are a very spirited team, and they are really well coached. I have a lot of respect for them.
Monday’s weather was perfect for soccer and complete without any inclement weather, and MSU got the night’s festivities going by getting on the board in the 37th minute Monday night on a tap-in on a set piece off a corner kick by junior forward Efosa Emovon, who had just came on as a substitute seconds before the corner kick, and his first touch of the match was not only the Spartans’ first official goal of the season, but also the first goal of his Spartan career.
Sophomore defender Jeremy Sharp took the corner and lofted the ball to the far post, where fellow sophomore defender Josh Mason headed the ball in front of the goal and Emovon tapped it in, sparking the Red Cedar Rowdies’ green smoke celebration.
The 1-0 lead held for the rest of the half, and into halftime. BGSU threatened, but was turned away time and again by the MSU defense. MSU got a man advantage in the 44th minute after a red card was issued to a Bowling Green player.
Michigan State clung to its one-goal advantage behind solid defense as the short-handed Falcons pressed for the equalizer. The outcome remained in doubt until the 82nd minute when sophomore forward Jake Spadafora got a nice through pass from sophomore midfielder Jack Guggemos, and slotted it home for the 2-nil lead.
“Jack’s my man. I’ve got chemistry with him; he was my roommate last year. I am very thankful for him and to score,” Spadafora said. “It felt great to get out here. We came out here knowing we had something to prove and we did today. We are very thankful for that opportunity.”
The Spartans iced the match in the 84th minute, again coming off a corner after BG goalkeeper Brendan Graves punched out the initial corner. However, it only went as far as senior midfielder Jack Zugay just outside the 18-yard box, and he settled it and lined up a shot to the left post, and freshman midfielder Colin Arce flicked it into the back of the net to secure the Victory for MSU.
Michigan State ended with a 13-8 shots advantage, including 7-2 in shots on goal. MSU also doubled up BGSU, 6-3, in corner kicks.
Spartan redshirt-sophomore net-minder Zac Kelly made two saves on the night, highlighted by a one-handed save in the 29th minute, keeping BG off the scoreboard. Graves ended with four saves for the Falcons.
“Kelly was massive today,” Spadafora added. “He made a huge save in the first half that really put us under way and gave us the motivation we needed to get back into the game. The backline was confident and strong and they gave us what we needed to play the best we can today. Very thankful for this start and hopefully more.”
Monday night was Move-In Madness at DeMartin, with MSU students getting free t-shirts before the game, and the spirited Red Cedar Rowdies and the packed house of 2,098 in attendance helped cheer on the Spartans to victory.
The Spartans now hit the road for a pair of games on the East Coast. Michigan State will face Army on Friday, Sept. 1 and Villanova on Monday, Sept. 4 at 3 p.m.
Michigan State returns home to DeMartin Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 7 to host Dayton at 7 p.m. on MSU’s “Ted Lasso Night.”
