Michigan State University
Valparaiso
Solid Effort Leads MSU Past Valpo, 2-0
10/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 18, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's soccer team picked up a 2-0 win over Valparaiso, at Old College Field on Oct. 18. The win marked the Spartans' sixth-straight victory over the Crusaders and the seventh shutout of the season for Michigan State (8-5-2). Seniors Greg Janicki and Matt Kreikemeier each scored in the winning effort. Michigan State has won nine of the last 10 matches against Valparaiso.
"This was what we call a Spartan effort," MSU head coach Joe Baum stated. "We came out with energy and I thought we defended well. We kept working and the offense seemed to develop."
In a contest dominated by the Green and White, MSU fired 12 shots in the first half alone, five more than the Crusaders managed all game. The Spartans registered a total of 19 shots on the day, seven of those on goal.
A flurry of those shots came courtesy of Kenzo Webster, who had four first-half shots. Webster would be denied twice by Crusader goalie Ryan Schwarz, but a Webster rebound in the 23rd minute would lead to a Greg Janicki goal. Janicki received the deflected shot two yards outside of the 18-yard box and booted it into the back left corner of the net for his first goal of the season.
Michigan State took a 1-0 lead into halftime and held tight behind solid defense from its back line. Frustration set in on Crusader attackers as four second-half cautions were issued.
The Spartans remained steady on the attack and Ben Pirmann narrowly missed collecting his second goal of the season in the 66th minute. Pirmann put a ball on goal off a direct kick from 22 yards out, but Schwarz again came up with a big save, punching the ball out of play.
Matt Kreikemeier gave the Spartans the insurance goal they were looking for in the 79th minute, notching his fourth score of the season. Pirmann accepted a well-placed ball from Kevin Reiman off a set play in the box and passed the ball to Kreikemeier, who drilled it home. Reiman and Pirmann were each credited with an assist.
Making two saves in net, the shutout was Spartan goalkeeper Jason Tillman's 19th of his career. Schwarz posted five saves for Valparaiso.
Michigan State (0-2-2 Big Ten) returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 22, hosting Northwestern (10-5-0, 2-3-0) in the Spartans' final home game of the year at 1 p.m. MSU will be looking for its first Big Ten win of the season. The Wildcats have beaten Michigan State just once in 12 tries at Old College Field (2-1, Oct. 18, 1988).
