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  Early Goals Key No. 19 MSU To 2-1 Win Over Oakland
 
McKenzie, Iyoha score in first half to lead Spartans to 10th win of the season
 
 
Senior Rauwshan McKenzie scored his second goal of the season in the first half of MSU's 2-1 win over Oakland
 
Senior Rauwshan McKenzie scored his second goal of the season in the first half of MSU's 2-1 win over Oakland
 
 

Oct. 17, 2007

Final Stats

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 19 Michigan State scored twice in under 14 minutes and withstood a second-half rally to defeat Oakland, 2-1, Wednesday afternoon at Old College Field. Senior Rauwshan McKenzie and freshman Nosa Iyoha scored goals for the Spartans, who improved to 10-1-2 with the victory. Oakland dropped to 6-5-2 on the year.

The first MSU goal came on a corner kick at the 4:48 mark. Senior Kevin Reiman booted a high-arching corner kick into traffic, where McKenzie shot a header into the net to give the Spartans the lead.

"Kevin sent a nice pass, and Rauwshan knocked it home," head coach Joe Baum said. "It was a great play. We were fortunate to get the early goals."

The second early tally came in the 14th minute, when senior Kenzo Webster took the ball on a breakaway through the Oakland defense and played a ball to Iyoha, who popped open just in time to stay onside. Iyoha buried the shot from 15 yards out in the center of the box into the lower left corner to give MSU a 2-0 lead. The goal was Iyoha's first as a Spartan, and 11 players have now found the back of the net for MSU this year.

Oakland controlled most of the second half until the Grizzlies' Machel James was issued his second yellow card of the match, forcing OU to play a man down for the final 15 minutes. Oakland's Sandell Martin scored at the 55:22 mark, taking a long pass from Adam Brent and scoring on a breakaway.

"We have been needing a day off. We really didn't have our legs in the second half," Baum said. "But Oakland is well-coached and came after us in the second half. We just wanted to win the game, and that's all you can ask for."

Michigan State, coming off an emotional stretch of matches against Indiana, Notre Dame and Michigan, outshot Oakland by a 12-8 margin, including a 7-2 edge in shots on goal. OU goalkeeper Steve Clark made five saves, while senior Chris Austin stopped one shot, a diving save in the first half. Austin was named the NSCAA/adidas National Player of the Week for his two shutouts last week.

 

 

Junior Doug DeMartin, the Big Ten's leading scorer, had a match-high four shots, including two tries on goal and two more that rolled just outside the post. Junior Zac Scaffidi added three shots on goal for MSU.

The 19th-ranked Spartans travel to Valparaiso on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. MSU's next home match is Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. against Western Michigan.