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Senior Makesi Lewis had a game-high six shots, but it wasn’t enough for the Oakland men’s soccer team (7-11-3), as a pair of second-half goals by Domenic Barone were the difference in a 2-0 loss to Michigan State (12-7-1) in an NCAA Tournament match at DeMartin Stadium on Thursday. The loss eliminates the Golden Grizzlies from the tournament.

“It was a good game,” said Oakland head coach Eric Pogue. “The guys battled really hard out there. The first half was pretty even, they had their chances we had ours. We had a good game plan going, we wanted to go out there and make it a battle. The goal in the second half deflated us a little and allowed them to play more defensively, which made it difficult for us to maintain that game plan. ”

After a scoreless first half, Michigan State took the lead by virtue of a penalty kick in the 49th minute. Barone ,outpaced his defender to win a long ball and was judged to have been pulled down inside the penalty area. The Michigan State forward stepped up and converted the spot kick himself, placing the ball just to the right of OU’s junior goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt who anticipated the shot going left.

Oakland pressed forward following the goal and had the better of the possession and attack for the next 10 minutes but were unable to make the final pass to unlock the MSU defense. As they pressed forward the Golden Grizzlies were caught out on a counterattack by the Spartans in the 63rd minute. From an Oakland corner kick, Brent Rosendall intercepted a pass and sent a long ball forward to Barone. The MSU striker took a touch and half-volleyed the ball inside the far post for his 10th goal of the season.

Oakland continued to press forward in search of an equalizer, but could not find the back of the net, coming up empty on five second-half shots. Lewis created a pair of chances, but hit a shot directly at the MSU goalkeeper, before having a pass narrowly intercepted that would have sent freshman Miche’le Lipari in on goal. Sophomore Tom Catalano also had a dangerous free kick deflected over the bar.

In a scoreless first-half, OU earned a 6-5 edge in shots. The best chance of the half for either team occurred in the sixth minute when the Spartans’ attempt to clear a cross was nearly redirected for an own goal, but flew narrowly over the crossbar.

Lewis had the best chances for the Golden Grizzlies’ offense in the early stages, hitting three shots. Two of the shots were too close to Michigan State goalkeeper Avery Steinlage and a third effort was curled just over the top, right corner.

The Spartans also created chances in the first, as the game had a free flow that allowed both offenses to attack. Rubin Bega had a long-range volley that went just over the bar in the early stages of the match.

Hildebrandt then made a pair of breakaway stops as the Spartans attacked with probing long balls over the top of the OU defense. MSU finished the half with a flourish of three corner kicks in the final minute of the half after a shot was blocked from in front of goal by an OU defender.

Hildebrandt finished with one save  and also benefited from some good luck when Bega hit the post late in the second half. Oakland finished with an 11-10 edge in shots and a 4-3 lead in shots on goal, but could not beat Steinlage who made four saves for his fifth shutout of the season.

The Golden Grizzlies fall to 1-5 in five NCAA Tournament appearances. It is the first time that the team has qualified for the NCAA Tournament under Pogue. Lewis is the only senior on the Oakland team this season.