Purdue Fort Wayne
Michigan State
Despite late push, `Dons fall to Michigan State, 2-1
8/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 29, 2009
Fort Wayne, IN - Junior Cory Keitz's score in the 87th minute wasn't enough to surmount a two-goal Spartan lead, as the Mastodons fell to the defending Big Ten Champions 2-1 in the opening exhibition match of the 2009 season.
After a physical first half that included a trio of yellow cards, the scoreboard was clean at 0-0. The Mastodons were unable to find the net on a pair of corner kicks and were out-shot in the period, 9-2.
Spartan sophomore Domenic Barone broke the tie in the game's 57th minute, as Rubin Bega's direct kick from the right side found Barone five yards out, directly in front of the net. Barone tapped one past a diving Donovan Dowling and Michigan State had the game's first tally on the board.
With the lead, the Spartans fell back into a more conservative defense and the Mastodon offense controlled the ball for the game's next 20 minutes.
A three-on-one IPFW breakaway ended in a shot wide left and a blast by freshman Grant Welter found the crossbar as the Mastodon offense struggled to find the back of the net.
Spartan senior Tim Granaderos tacked on State's second goal of the half as he capitalized on a picture-perfect corner kick from Ryan Thelen.
Down 2-0, Coach Harper's squad put the heat on the Spartan defense late in the second half.
Fresh off the bench, junior Cory Keitz's left-footed shot from just outside the 18 deflected off the back of a Spartan defender before leaping over the head of the keeper and into the goal, cutting the MSU lead to just one.
A flurry of action in the box during the waning seconds of the match had the Mastodon crowd on its feet, but as the final horn sounded, an errant IPFW shot went high and wide to end the game 2-1. The Spartans out-shot the `Dons 15-7 on the day, as IPFW keeper Donovan Dowling tallied three saves.
The Mastodons will return to action this Tuesday as they host the Butler Bulldogs in a 7 p.m. match at Hefner Stadium in Fort Wayne.
~Dons~
