Facing a team as young and inexperienced as Wisconsin, the No. 21 Michigan State Spartans could have easily overlooked such a squad with a high-profile matchup against Indiana on the horizon.
Instead, the Spartans bided their time against a deliberate Badger defense, capitalizing on some sloppy defending in a 3-0 win Sunday at DeMartin Stadium.
MSU (9-3-0, 2-2-0 Big Ten) was paced by junior forward Domenic Barone, who notched his sixth goal of the season, and senior goalkeeper Avery Steinlage, who helped the Spartans record their Big Ten-leading seventh shutout of the season.
With the loss, Wisconsin (1-9-2, 0-2-1 Big Ten) retains its spot at the bottom of the Big Ten Conference, but throw-in the fact that the team has 15 newcomers this year, 13 of whom are freshman, and one can begin to see the growing pains the squad faces.
“We put in a professional performance today against Wisconsin,” head coach Damon Rensing said. “I am very pleased with how we played because they were a tough squad to break down on their defensive end. Domenic [Barone] had a good game and Cyrus [Saydee] helped to energize us on offense.”
MSU got on the board in the sixth minute through a Wisconsin own goal. Saydee made a run down the left flank before hitting a hard shot on the Badger goal. After a save that deflected off of the goalkeeper’s hands, defender Luke Goodnetter tried to clear the ball but put it into the top of his own net.
The Spartans would begin to control possession against a Wisconsin team that would pack all 10 outfield players into its own defensive end. MSU then made it 2-0 in the 41st minute on a Barone penalty kick after forward Brent Rosendall was taken down inside the Badger box.
The third and final goal was tallied in the 50th minute by senior Jake Fullerton after the defender poked a ball into the net after a Spartan free kick bounced around in the penalty area. The Badgers created a handful of chances in the second half as MSU hung back to protect its lead, but were unable to generate a considerable threat.
“They came out with a little bit of high pressure and they did well; they had us pinned for 10 to 15 minutes in that second half,” Barone said.
“We knew Wisconsin was more of a defensive-minded team,” Steinlage said. “So we knew it was important to not get scored on, because if they were ahead they would pack it in and make it tough for us.”
The Spartans also picked up an injury to one of their most experienced players. Senior midfielder Jeff Ricondo, a co-captain, was carted off of the field late in the second half and taken to Sparrow Hospital amidst fears that the player suffered a serious upper-body injury. Ricondo’s status will be updated later in the week.
“I try not to worry until it’s time to worry,” Rensing said. “It looks like it’s something with his clavicle, and we just hope it’s not broken. Just a freak play and Jeff is such a hard worker who goes and goes.”
Up next, the Spartans will travel to Bowling Green on Wednesday before putting their undefeated home record to the test against Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 24.
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