Men's Soccer 2014 Season Recap
12/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
2014 Men's Soccer Season Recap 
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's soccer team closed out the 2014 season with a record of 12-5-6 in Damon Rensing's sixth season as head coach. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) ranked the Spartans No. 8 following their post-season run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
In the Ranks
Michigan State finished No. 8 in the postseason rankings from the NSCAA. This marked back-to-back Top-10 finishes for the program. The Spartans also were ranked in the Top-25 of the NSCAA Coaches Poll for every match of the 2014 season.
MSU also picked up two key road victories against ranked opponents (No. 2 Indiana and No. 12 Penn State), as well as a hard-fought tie at No. 5 Notre Dame.
The Spartans went 2-1-5 against ranked opponents this season, with their only loss coming against Providence (No. 10) in the Elite Eight.
NCAA Aces
Michigan State defeated Oakland and advanced past Washington on penalty kicks to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans fell to Providence 3-2 on Dec. 6 at DeMartin Stadium in the final match of the season.
It marked the second consecutive year that the Spartans advanced to the Elite Eight. MSU is only one of two programs in the nation to accomplish this feat in 2014. This was the eighth all-time Elite Eight appearance for Michigan State (1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 2013, 2014).
Michigan State was one of six Big Ten teams to earn NCAA Tournament bids. The Spartans received the highest seed of any team in the conference, followed by fourth-seeded Maryland and fifth-seeded Indiana. MSU was the only Big Ten team to advance to the field of 16.
Michigan State received the third seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. It marked the highest-ever seed in program history. The Spartans were seeded fourth against Duke in 2008.
It marked the 17th all-time and third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance for MSU. The Spartans are 25-14-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
It was the team's fifth NCAA appearance under head coach Damon Rensing. The Spartans have posted a 6-5-1 record in NCAA Tournament games under his guidance.
National Notoriety
Jay Chapman was named a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, the NSCAA's highest individual honor. Following the postseason, Chapman also was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Best XI Second Team.
Fatai Alashe and Zach Carroll both received second-team Soccer Madness all-conference recognition for their contributions in the 2014 season.
In national weekly awards, Jason Stacy, Carroll and Ken Krolicki were named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week during the regular season. Carroll earned College Soccer News National Team of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week honors during the postseason.
Big Time, Big Ten Soccer
Michigan State posted a record of 4-2-2 in the Big Ten regular season. The Spartans finished fifth in the conference.
In the Big Ten Tournament, the Spartans fell to eventual champion Maryland in the semifinal round after defeating Penn State 1-0 in the opening round. Fatai Alashe was selected to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team for his performance in these matches.
A total of five Spartans earned All-Big Ten recognition following the regular season. Junior midfielder Jay Chapman was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year and also earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Seniors Adam Montague and Ryan Keener were both selected to the second team while Brad Centala and Ken Krolicki were named to the All-Freshman Team.
Three members of the squad earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors during the regular season: Zach Bennett (9/29), Jason Stacy (10/20) and Krolicki (11/6).
Academic Accolades
The squad earned a cumulative 3.35 GPA for the fall semester, earning NSCAA Team Academic Award recognition for the fourth-straight season.
In the classroom, Keener was named to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team as a kinesiology major, posting a GPA of 3.94. Keener is just the third Spartan all-time to be named an Academic All-American and the second first-team honoree since Doug DeMartin in 2008.
The men's soccer team received the most Acadmic All-Big Ten selections out of MSU men's varsity athletics with 16 honorees. Brian Winterfield was recognized as one of a handful of student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
For the Record
The men's soccer team set a single-game record for attendance at DeMartin Stadium with a standing-room only crowd of 3,003 when MSU played Michigan on Nov. 2. The previous record of 2,800 was set in 2008.
Zach Bennett set a record for career shutouts when he surpassed the previous mark of 23 against Akron. He holds the all-time career shutout record with 28 following his junior season. Bennett is just one win shy of tying the all-time win record with 35 after the 2014 season.
Adam Montague closed out his Spartan career amongst the all-time greats ranked tied for 13th in career points (67) and tied for sixth in career assists (21).
Picture Perfect
MSU had six matches broadcast by the Big Ten Network on either TV or streamed live through Big Ten Plus. An additional three matches were streamed live on MSUSpartans.com during the NCAA Tournament. This was an increase of match coverage from the previous season.
In the Sept. 19 match against Maryland broadcast on the Big Ten Network, Zach Carroll had a last-minute game-winning clear from just a few feet outside the net. His solid defensive play earned him College Soccer News National Team of the Week honors.
In the 4-0 victory over Western Michigan, Jason Stacy tallied five points in the match, including two from a 30-yard rocket of a goal that caught the attention of ESPN. The play was featured as the No. 4 play on the SportCenter's Top 10 the night of Oct. 15.
Beyond the Banks of the Red Cedar
MSU had 17 summer competitors prior to 2014 season between the USL Premier de USL Premier Development League and the National Premier League. The athletes were divided between 11 different rosters across the country.
Associate head coach Kylie Stannard will make the transition to head coach of men's soccer at Yale next season.
Co-captains Adam Montague and Fatai Alashe were honored as two of 55 student-athletes invited to participate in the MLS Combine prior to the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. In a mock draft from Top Drawer Soccer, Alashe was named as the potential 12th overall pick.
