Tuesday, September 24
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM ET
Michigan State University
0-5-2, 0-0-0
0
vs
1
Notre Dame
4-2-1, 0-2-0
1
2
F
Notre Dame
0
1
1
Michigan St.
0
0
0
Short-Handed Spartans Fall to No. 21 Notre Dame
9/24/2019 10:34:00 PM | Men's Soccer
A late goal in the 80th minute pushes the Irish past the Spartans.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - In a series that always features tight battles, the Spartan men's soccer team was stopped by No. 21 Notre Dame, 1-0, Tuesday at DeMartin Stadium
With the loss, MSU falls to 0-5-2, while Notre Dame halts a two-game losing streak to improve to 4-2-1.
"I think anytime you play a team like Notre Dame whose got good ball tempo where you have to defend quickly and also attack quickly, your speed of play jumps. So our speed of play should be ready for a good Friday night Rutgers team. Jim (McElderry) has done a great job with them, and they're off to a great start," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said.
Due to a rash of injuries, the Spartans had seven players that played the complete 90 minutes, including freshmen defender Nick Stone. The rookie was one of four true freshmen to play, and one of 10 underclassmen to see action on Tuesday night.
Senior defender Michael Pimlott, senior midfielder Cody Sweatte , senior defender Michael Wetungu and junior midfielder Michael Miller were the only upperclassmen to see the field.
"I do the best that I can, but we've also got more leaders out there so it's not just on me. We've got (Alex) Shterenberg, (Hunter) Morse and others out there to help me. Shterenberg is very vocal on the field, he always puts his heart out there," Pimlott said.
The first half was an even battle with both team taking six shots. The Fighting Irish came out hot with the first shot on goal in the second minute. Sophomore forward Farai Mutatu countered with a low shot that was corralled by Keagan McLaughlin in the 11th minute.
The teams traded shots for the rest of the first half, but the half ended with neither team finding the back of the net.
Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Morse was clutch in the second half, making two clutch saves. In the 69th minute, made a diving save on a shot by Aiden McFadden to keep the game scoreless.
In the 80th minute, the Irish finally broke throw on a play started by a Spencer Farina throw in. Michael Pellegrino scored his first collegiate goal, scoring from six yards off a ball the ricocheted off a Spartan defender and slipped past Morse.
"I applaud the guys, but I think in this program and with these players you can sense it, they're not happy with playing well and losing. I think that's the sign of a good program, and I applaud the guys for not being heavy. You can't fault the effort of these guys. They put everything on the line, but I think we're close. We've got a fresh, new season with the Big Ten, so we'll keep inching towards it," Rensing said.
Michigan State will no begin Big Ten action, taking on No. 22 Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m, in Piscataway, N.J.
Team Stats
UND
MSU
Goals
1
0
Shots
13
8
Shots on Goal
4
3
Saves
3
3
Corners
7
6
Fouls
11
11
Scoring Plays
Michael Pellegrino (1)
Assisted By: Spencer Farina
off throw in from six yards
79:41
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
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