Spartans Clipped By Broncos Thursday Night

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State men’s soccer was topped by Western Michigan, 1-0, Thursday night in front of an over-capacity crowd at DeMartin Stadium in the second half of a doubleheader with the Spartan women’s soccer team.

An early goal by WMU held up as the Spartans fought for the equalizer but were unable to break through the Bronco back line. The loss overshadowed a festive night at DeMartin Stadium that saw the debut of new Spartan kits, following a win by the women, along with Student Appreciation Night with several local food trucks in attendance, and an overflow, spirited crowd of 2,534, including a jam-packed Red Cedar Rowdies section.

“That was awesome, I just want to give a shout out to our marketing department, especially (Assistant Director of Marketing & Fan Engagement) Allison Zwarka, she did a fantastic job,” MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. “I want to thank our over-capacity crowd that came to this game, this day was amazing. We had an awesome Rowdies section tonight, the environment was electric, unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get a result.”

MSU slid to 1-2-0 on the young season with the loss, while WMU leveled its ledger at 1-1-0.

The visitors scored in the 13th minute off a throw-in by Jonathan Robinson, feeding Charlie Sharp, who then got the ball to Dylan Sing, who beat the Spartan defense for the early goal.

MSU had several scoring chances the rest of the match, but were unable to net the equalizer.

Western Michigan had a 7-4 edge in shots, while Michigan State held a slim, 6-4, advantage in corner kicks. Thursday’s match was a physical battle between the Spartans and Broncos, with 41 total fouls called, with 21 whistles on MSU and 20 on WMU, and five yellow cards were issued, with three assessed to the Broncos and two on the Spartans.

With its three-match homestand complete, the Spartans head out on the road for the first time this season, traveling to No. 14 Akron on Monday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. ET, continuing on the road on Friday, Sept. 9,  to play at Bowling Green, also a 7 p.m. start. Michigan State then returns home to host Chicago State on Monday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium.