Spartans Tie IPFW, 1-1 in Exhibition

Aug. 17, 2012

East Lansing, Mich. - The Michigan State men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 deadlock with IPFW on Friday night in Fort Wayne, Ind. It was the first exhibition game for MSU in the pre-season, and an opportunity to integrate some new faces in with a corps of veterans. In all, 20 field players saw the field and the Spartans utilized two goalies - one in each half - in an effort to try out personnel in new positions and roles.

The teams fought through nearly 70 minutes of scoreless play before Jackson Tooke put the hosts on the board. Mitch Falkenstern sent a through ball to Tooke, who chipped it past Zach Bennett, the freshman keeper for the Spartans. He played the entire second half after junior Bryce Dobbins made one save in the scoreless first half.

Almost exactly 10 minutes to the second later, the Spartans got the equalizer off a restart. Newcomer Parker Seymour took the free kick, and fellow backline mate Ryan Keener headed it past the keeper far-side to knot the score at one.

Despite the tie score at the end of regulation, the teams did not play any extra frames and the game settled in a 1-1 tie.

Michigan State will train on Saturday and play Duke in a neutral-site contest at Trine University (Angola, Ind.) on Sunday at 1 p.m.