Coming off their most impressive win of the season, the Falcon men’s soccer team travels to East Lansing today to face Big Ten rival Michigan State (6-4-1).
After scoring four goals against Buffalo last weekend, the Falcons (2-8-2) are brimming with confidence, something they will need if they hope to beat the Spartans.
Coach Eric Nichols, whose tactical adjustments contributed heavily to the Falcons success, hopes to capture lightning in a bottle once again by pairing traditional forward Cameron Hepple with senior Jacob Lawrence, who has spent most of his career as a defensive back.
‘We have had a good few days of training, and the Buffalo win really helped our confidence,’ Lawrence said. ‘We really don’t have any thing to lose out there, so we are going to go out and try to beat a Big Ten team.’
The Spartans are familiar opposition for the Falcons. The two teams met this spring with the Spartans winning narrowly 1-0, in a game the Falcons enjoyed the bulk of possession before a rain delay, which they were never able to recover from.
‘I like where we are right now, we played really well against Buffalo,’ Nichols said. ‘We had a good game against Michigan State this spring, even though we lost. But I feel as good as I have felt all year about the team.’
The Falcons will play a traditional 4-4-2 formation paring Hepple and Lawrence up front, but will find it much more difficult to score against Michigan State’s stout defense.
‘They have some really good players in the back,’ Nichols said. ‘Their goal keeper is good and their two center backs are top notch. Their best talent is in their back line.’
Dylan Schoettley will start in goal for the Falcons, being chosen over Jeff Smoker for the second straight game. The two keepers have battled for a place on the first team all season, with Smoker starting the first 10 games of the season.
The Falcons’ next game will be at home Saturday against conference rivals Hardwick College. The game is the Falcons annual cancer awareness game, hosted by Falcon forward Gavin Dozier.