Spartan Nation EXCLUSIVE: Spartans Just Did! MSU 1 Georgetown 0 as Michigan State Advances to the NCAA Tournament Elite 8!

Washington, DC Spartan Nation was the ONLY MSU centric media source live and in person today here in our nation's capital for the Spartans sweet sixteen

Washington, DC

Spartan Nation was the ONLY MSU centric media source live and in person today here in our nation's capital for the Spartans sweet sixteen matchup!

The Michigan State men’s soccer team visited the nation’s capital to play the Georgetown Hoyas in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Georgetown possessed the ball early in the match keeping the Spartans on their own end of the field the first five minutes of the game.

Michigan State started to find its offense around the 32:00 minute mark. They were able to move the ball around the Georgetown end of the field and possess the ball for a considerable amount of time.

Georgetown was able to direct 4 shots on goal in the first half to MSU’s one. Zach Bennett (Plano, TX) survived the Hoya onslaught turning them away to keep Georgetown scoreless in the game. Bennett said of his performance, “I had a couple of tough early shots to deal with… after that, my defense settled in and did a great job around the box.”

At the 20:35 mark, Georgetown lined up for a penalty kick after MSU midfielder Fatai Alashe hammered Hoya forward Brandon Allen. Spartan captain Kevin Cope (Canton, MI) successfully turned the penalty kick away. Two minutes later, the Hoyas were lined up for another penalty kick that was successfully turned back by the Spartans once again.

At the 17:03 mark MSU struck first blood when reserve forward Adam Montague drilled an unassisted shot past Georgetown goalkeeper Tomas Gomez; it was his fifth goal of the season. The goal came only 45 seconds after Montague (Toledo, OH) checked in. That it was the first time all season that the Hoyas were behind in a home match.

The Spartans continued to possess the ball equally with Georgetown while playing a physical style of soccer that seemed rather Spartan like.

HALF TIME: MSU 1, Georgetown 0

Georgetown came out in the second half very determined to play the half on the MSU side of the field. Once again Zach Bennett kept numerous shots out of the goal.

At the 35:00 minute mark of the second half, Georgetown had three centering passes in front of the goal giving them their best scoring opportunities of the game. The Spartan defense held up and turned Georgetown away on every opportunity.

At the 32:00 minute mark of the midfielder Dewey Lewis (Rockford, MI) was fouled and awarded a penalty kick. The ball bounced around the Georgetown goal, but didn’t find its mark.

At the 28:00 minute mark, the Georgetown fan base became restless. The 1600 in attendance were almost in disbelief as the MSU defense turned the Hoyas back time after time. The Spartan faithful numbered around 200 people and cheered their Spartans on throughout this beautiful December afternoon overlooking Georgetown Hospital.

At the 13:00 minute mark, Georgetown threatened again only to be turned back by captain Kevin Cope. Cope was physical and steady all day. The MSU defenseman was the difference around the goal all afternoon. The second half shots on goal were 7 to 3 in favor of the Hoyas, but it didn’t matter.

Cope said about his team’s defensive effort, “We are a program that prides itself on playing great defense. We preach defense first. If we keep them out of the goal, we won’t lose the game. This team has great chemistry. We created some good scoring chances, but it was our defense today. This is the first Elite 8 in over 40 years; this is a big program win.”

Junior forward Adam Montague said of his game winning goal and the significance of his left-footed kick. “I was in the right place at the right time. It didn’t really hit me. I went to celebrate with my teammates like any other (goal). Like the good old days… we were just having fun out there.”

Coach Damon Rensing seemed to truly appreciate what his Spartans had accomplished. “This started with Joe Baum. We wanted to restore this program back to where it was in the 1960’s. We had a national championship and won a lot of games. So today’s win I would say is a combination of both of our work... Coach Baum, myself and all of our great assistants. This was a special performance by a special team.”

He said about the Spartans defensive effort, “ We’ve allowed one goal in out last six games. That is really saying something because #18 and #10 (Georgetown players) are two of the better attacking players in the country.”