If they didn’t prove it against the nation’s No. 1 team in Akron, the men’s soccer team showed they can compete with some of the best college soccer teams in the nation, as they were narrowly defeated 2-1 against No. 15 Michigan State.

After a scoreless first half, midfielder Dusko Topolic made his final game at Cochrane Field a memorable one by scoring early in the second half to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead after 60 minutes.

“It was a great moment, being able to score on senior day, it was very emotional for me,” Topolic said. “Now we have to look forward to our remaining (Mid-American Conference) games and hopefully make it to the tournament.”

However, the lead and any Falcon momentum was short-lived as the Spartans recovered quickly, scoring through forward Brett Rosendall just five minutes after the Falcons took the lead.

The contest remained back and forth for the next 15 minutes, with both the Falcons and Spartans creating chances to score.

With 12 minutes remaining, the Spartans finally got the lead they would not relinquish.

Spartan Rubin Bega stepped over a free kick just outside the penalty box and beat Falcon keeper Miguel Rosales with a shot. Bega’s free kick goal proved to be enough as the Falcons were unable to mount any serious attack on the Spartan goal as time was running out.

“We are heartbroken by this one,” Falcons’ coach Eric Nichols said.” We did enough to win this one, but a few mistakes cost us the game.”

The Falcons, who were picked to finish sixth out of seven teams in the MAC, are currently third in the league, behind only Western Michigan and Akron.

If the Falcons win out, they are assured a spot in the conference tournament, which only invites the four highest seeded teams. The invite will also mean a second meeting with Akron, a team the Falcons held scoreless for nearly 70 minutes in their only previous encounter this season.

In a testament to the job coach Eric Nichols has done so far this season, the Falcons were not even in the conversation for the MAC Tournament when the season began. Now, with only two conference games left, the goal of playing in a MAC tournament is very real, all with 12 freshmen. 

The Falcons will travel to DeKalb, Ill. to play Northern Illinois on Saturday, in a game with huge MAC implications. The game kicks off at 1:00 p.m.