Men's Soccer Downs Ohio State; Advances in Conference Tourney

Nov. 8, 2001

MADISON, Wis. - The Spartan men's soccer team defeated Ohio State, 2-1, in come-back fashion, Thursday afternoon at the Big Ten tournament in Madison, Wis. With the win, the Spartans advance to the conference semi-finals where they will take on Penn State, Friday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. EST.

The win was the Spartans' second of the year over the Buckeyes, as they defeated them 3-0 earlier this season in East Lansing.

Ohio State took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Justin Cook scored in the 40th minute. The Spartans responded in the second half as they have all season long. Jeff Krass (So., Brighton) scored the first of his two goals unassisted in the 55th minute to tie the game at one. Krass then gave the Spartans the lead for good in the 68th minute when he took a pass from Ryan McMahen (Fr., Munster, Ind.) and Brett Konley (Jr., Plymouth) and knocked it past OSU goalkeeper Kerry Thompson for the game-winning goal.

Spartan goalkeeper Mike Robinson (So., Troy) finished the game with two saves.

MSU will take on Penn State at 6 p.m. EST Friday. The Spartans fell to Penn State earlier this season in double-overtime, 1-0. In the other semi-final, Michigan will take on Indiana.

Game SummaryTeam        1st 2nd TotalOhio State  1   0   1Michigan State  0   2   2
Scoring Summary1. 39:57    OSU Cook (Traeger)2. 54:26    MSU Krass (Unassisted)3. 67:09    MSU Krass (McMahen, Konley)
Shot AttemptsOhio State  10IMichigan State 7
Goalie SavesThomopson (OSU)   1M. Robinson (MSU) 2

Corner KicksOhio State  2Michigan State  6