EAST LANSING – Michigan State men’s soccer took the stage against No. 4 Notre Dame at DeMartin Stadium on Monday night. The Spartan’s comeback fell just short, losing 3-2 and dropping to 1-1 overall on the season. 

MSU started the match slowly. The Spartans were outshot 14-3 in the first half and were forced to play from behind. Notre Dame scored the first two goals in the first half. Paddy Burns opened the scoring for the Irish in the 19th minute and freshman midfielder Sebastian Green extended the lead to two three minutes later. 

“I didn’t like the first 20 minutes of the game, but we started to settle in and play at the end and hit the post in the first half,” head coach Damon Rensing said. “We came out in the second half and started really well. I was disappointed with that third goal and all of theirs came off restarts. But you really have to applaud the guys. We’re a deep team and played a lot of different guys. I thought our response was great and we didn’t give up, but we’ve got to continue working.”

In the second half, MSU looked like a different team. The Spartans placed 12 shots on net and generated two goals.

An early second half goal pushed the Irish lead to 3-0. Graduate midfielder Jack Beck started the comeback for the Spartans in the 75th minute when he scored on a penalty kick. Junior midfielder Vedad Kovac added another goal for MSU in the 84th minute, but that was all the Spartans could muster down the stretch. 

“Every game we play is going to be a hard one, and in this game specifically, we just came out shy,” Beck said. “Our team will always show character, and we’ll always respond and always battle. We just hope to build that into the next game.” 

The Spartans are back in action on Thursday, Sept. 1, when they host Western Michigan at DeMartin Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. after the MSU women’s team hosts Dartmouth at 5 p.m. as part of a doubleheader.