No. 16 Spartans Escape Cochrane Field with 1-0 Win

Wednesday, September 24

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

6-2-0

#16 Michigan State (Orange Out!)

5-1-1

Michigan State

Bowling Green

Photo by: Larry Clapper

September 24, 2014 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Falcons fall at home for first time this season

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Tim Kreutz scored on a rebound with just over 10 minutes left in the second half, lifting nationally-ranked Michigan State University to a 1-0 win over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team Wednesday night (Sept. 24). The non-conference match was held before a crowd of 1,611 raucous fans at Cochrane Field.

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POST-MATCH VIDEO: Coach Nichols
PHOTO GALLERY: BGSU-MSU 1 | BGSU-MSU 2

With the win, the Spartans improve to 5-1-1 on the season. The Falcons drop to 6-2-0 on the year.

"Michigan State is a good team," said BGSU head coach Eric Nichols. "They defend extremely well; they don't concede goals, and they didn't concede a goal tonight. Certainly, we saw that we could play with them, but we didn't win. This (BGSU) team thought they could win, and I did, too, so we are disappointed to come out of this game without a victory."

BGSU goalkeeper Nick Landsberger made four saves on the night, including a stop on MSU's Ken Krolicki from point-blank range on the right side of the penalty area in the 80th minute. The rebound, however, trickled across the six-yard box, and Kreutz was the first to reach it. The fifth-year senior knocked the ball into the vacated net at the 79:38 mark, and that proved to be the winning goal.

For the Spartans, Zach Bennett made three saves in net to earn his sixth shutout in seven matches this season to date.

MSU entered the match ranked 16th in the nation in this week's NSCAA/Continental Tire poll and 17th in the Soccer America poll. But, it was the Falcons dictating the play for much of the scoreless first half. BGSU had a 5-2 advantage in first-period shots.

The first shot of the night came with just under two minutes gone, as sophomore Jacob Roth stole the ball in the Spartans' end of the field and fired a long shot that was deflected wide of the net by an MSU defender. With 10 minutes elapsed, Roth put a long free kick into the penalty area, where fellow sophomore Pat Flynn was waiting. Flynn, the nation's leading scorer, got his head on the ball, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.

In the 19th minute, senior Vlad Lekarev played a through ball for Flynn, but an MSU defender shielded the Falcon striker from the ball long enough for Bennett to grab it and end the threat.

Just over midway through the opening period, it looked as if MSU would have a golden scoring chance, as the Spartans' Jason Stacy worked against Jake Genrich, but the BG junior made a nifty tackle in the box, taking the ball away from Stacy and clearing it out of the Falcons' defensive end.

Less than a minute after Genrich's defensive play, the Falcons threatened at the other end. Flynn slid a pass to senior Danny Baraldi on his left, and Baraldi uncorked a hard, curving shot that was headed toward the far post. Bennett was able to get a hand on the ball, diving to his right to tip it wide of the goal and out of play.

State's first shot of the match came in the 29th minute. Off of a corner kick, the ball came to Zach Carroll near the top of the box. His hard turnaround shot was blocked by a BG defender.

With 10 minutes left in the period, sophomore Joe Sullivan made a long run. He cut the ball inside and hit a shot from distance, but the ball sailed wide of the target.

Sullivan and Flynn teamed up for another BG chance with seven minutes to go before the break. Sullivan stole the ball in the MSU end, and the two Naperville, Ill., natives worked to set up a scoring chance. The play culminated with Flynn getting a shot off in traffic, but that shot was blocked in the box.

At the other end, MSU's Adam Montague picked up a loose ball late in the period and fired a shot wide of the net, and the teams went to the intermission still locked in a scoreless tie.

Early in the second half, junior Ryan James received a throw-in from Roth and ripped a long shot on goal. But, Bennett saw the ball all the way and was able to make the stop.

While BG controlled play in the opening half, the Spartans seemed to have the momentum in the early stages of the second period. After the James shot, the Green and White created several chances at the other end. Just over seven minutes into the half, Fatai Alashe fired a shot off of the left goalpost for the most dangerous chance by either team to that point in the match.

A forward ball sent MSU's Dewey Lewis in behind the BG defense, but Landsberger made a nifty save on the sophomore's breakaway shot, and a follow-up try by Krolicki went high.

In the 62nd minute, a penalty kick was awarded to the Spartans, as a Falcon player was called for a foul in the box. Alashe's PK try, however, caromed off of the top of the crossbar and went out of play, keeping the match scoreless.

The Falcons looked to get on the scoreboard, but a shot by Baraldi in the 73rd minute was blocked, a cross by Lekarev in the 78th minute was blocked out of the box and a shot by James soon after was saved. Then, in the 80th minute, Kruetz pounced on a rebound for the lone goal of the night. BG could get just one more shot in the remaining 10-plus minutes, as a Sullivan attempt went wide of the far post, and the Spartans hung on for the win.

MSU had a 12-9 advantage in shot attempts, including a 10-4 margin in the second half, and the visitors put five shots on goal to BG's three on the night.

The Falcons will begin a three-match road swing this weekend, heading to Western New York for a Sunday (Sept. 28) match vs. St. Bonaventure University. That contest will begin at 12:00 p.m. Following trips to IPFW (Oct. 1) and Cleveland State (Oct. 7), the Brown and Orange will return home for the Mid-American Conference opener vs. Akron on Saturday, Oct. 11.