Men's Soccer Makes NCAA Tournament Field
11/19/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 19, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's soccer team will make its first appearance in the NCAA Soccer Tournament since 1969. Michigan State will travel to Bloomington, Ind. to take on Butler in first round action, Friday, Nov. 23.
"We are really excited about making the field, this was our goal," said head coach Joe Baum, who played goalkeeper on MSU's 1967 and 1968 Co-National Championship teams. "We looked kind of shaky a few times during the year, but we responded in the second half of the season. We're just excited to be in the tournament. We are so grateful and ready to play."
"1969 was the last year we made the tournament, I think you can say that is a drought," Baum said. "We can't worry about the past, we just have to go from where we are at today. We'll be ready, we are pretty healthy, been playing pretty well and we're excited."
The Spartans made eight straight appearances in the tournament from 1962-'69.
The Spartans finished the 2001 regular season 12-5-1 and lost in the Big Ten Tournament Championship to Indiana. MSU's 12 wins are the most since 1996.
"Now we'll start our preparation for our games. We are going to enjoy every single moment of this whole season," senior midfielder Steve Arce said. "We realize that it is an honor to be in the NCAA Tournament. We are glad to be in it, but we also want to compete and make some noise in the tournament."
If the Spartans win, they will take on Indiana, Sunday, Nov. 25.