EAST LANSING, Mich. – A goal midway through the second half was the difference here Friday as Michigan State (1-1-1 overall) held off Villanova (0-2-1 overall) in a non-league men's soccer matchup played here.
"We talked about being good in the first half prior to the game and I thought we did a pretty good of that," stated Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow. "Both teams had chances and we got to halftime tied at zero.
"We weren't able to carry that over to the second half though. We had some unforced turnovers and that allowed Michigan State to really get into us. They got the goal and they were mostly able to keep us on our back foot the rest of the day."
Michigan State generated the first three shots of the match, one of which was from the boot of Sean Kerrigan. Villanova sophomore Sebastien Cutler DeJesus made his first save on the Kerrigan blast in the sixth minute.
Jorge Garcia generated Villanova's first attempt on frame in the 21st minute but Michigan State goalkeeper Zac Kelly made the save on the shot aimed at the middle of the net.
A shot by the Spartans Josh Adams with less than a minute to play in the first half was on frame but Cutler DeJesus again was in position to make his second save of the day.
The match was level at zero after 45 minutes had been played.
Michigan State owned a 10-5 edge in shots and a 2-1 advantage in shots on goal.
The Spartans grabbed the lead in the 64minute. Richie Ludwig took a feed from Jonathan Stout and sent a shot off his right foot that found the bottom left side of the net at 63:16.
Villanova's efforts to grab the equalizer were mostly deflected by the Spartans in the remaining minutes of the second half. Michigan State kept the pressure on, at one point registering 13 of the period's 15 shots.
Jason Bouregy got a chance for the Wildcats in the 83rd minute, but his bid was stopped by Michigan State keeper Kelly. But Villanova was unable to find the goal it needed with the final count standing at 1-0 when the final horn was sounded after 90 minutes.
Fetrow and his staff were pleased with the Wildcats defensive work in this one. After surrendering a total of five goals in its first two regular season matches, the 'Cats did a good job of keeping the area around Cutler DeJesus free of threats.
"Without a doubt, it was a step forward," Fetrow stated of the defensive effort. "Lorenzo Avalos and Cole Knapp did a good job as the center backs and Sebastian was excellent in goal, helping keep us organized back there. I thought our back four played very well."
Next up for the Wildcats is a Monday game at nationally ranked Western Michigan (3 p.m.)
