Couch: Michigan State's College Cup-bound soccer program built with in-state kids

Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING – Michigan State’s soccer team is literally taking on the world when it takes on Akron Friday night in the semifinals of the College Cup in Santa Barbara, California.

The Zips have 16 international players from 11 different countries — Germany, Spain, Italy, Eritrea, Nigeria, England, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Ireland, Mexico and Canada.

The Spartans are countering with players from Lansing, DeWitt, Haslett, Grand Ledge, Grandville, Walled Lake, Rochester Hills, Farmington Hills, Bloomfield Hills and other such exotic places.

MSU coach Damon Rensing has built his Final Four-bound program with Midwest kids. More specifically, Michigan kids.

Seven of the Spartans’ 11 starters are from Michigan. Two others are from Illinois, another from Indiana. One is from Denmark, defender Patrick Nielsen, the lone international player on the roster.

There’s no right or wrong way to build a college soccer roster. Akron has been to the College Cup four times in the last decade, under two coaches, and won the national championship in 2010 by recruiting the world.

MSU has been to eight NCAA tournaments and four Elite Eights since Rensing took over in 2009, before reaching its first College Cup this season.

Rensing described the abundance of international talent available in the sport as “the great equalizer” in the college game.

For Rensing, though, the priority is here at home. The Michigan- and Midwest-first philosophy is rooted in opportunity and belief.

“The one thing I kind of developed, I told recruits, ‘I don’t know if we could win a Big Ten or national title if we only had Michigan players, but I know we can’t win it without them being the core of the team,’” Rensing said. “I think in any given year it’s anywhere from a top 8-to-15 type of state (in terms of soccer talent).

“You have to look at it like this, too. I was afforded an opportunity as a kid out of St. Louis to come play for Michigan State on a partial scholarship. I think in the U.S., you’ve got to try to help American players. And I think I’m at a school at Michigan State where I can recruit (that way). If I’m able to get the best Michigan and Midwest players, we should be able to recruit for Big Ten and national titles.

"And that’s not maybe the same everywhere, so I don’t fault anybody who goes a different route, but I just think we have a good thing going here and I like to see the American players get an opportunity, because it’s hard for them in the world of soccer.”

The other two teams remaining in the NCAA tournament -- MSU’s Big Ten brethren Indiana and Maryland -- either follow MSU’s recruiting road map or are a mix of the two philosophies. The Hoosiers don’t have a single international player, but also didn’t pluck any talent from Michigan. Maryland has seven international players from seven different countries.

“We have two freshmen from Texas, (one from) New Jersey, Detroit, and our two best freshmen who played the most minutes are from Haslett and DeWitt,” Rensing continued. “Not even just in-state but within 10 miles. We scour to look, but sometimes when you know what you have, and I think the guys who grew up here are kind of playing for the state of Michigan. So we go out to Santa Barbara and they know they’re not just representing Michigan State, but Midwest soccer.”

Seeing that pay-it-forward approach to recruiting pay off by finally cracking the Final Four — ending MSU’s 50-year drought and Rensing’s own series of near-misses — stirred some emotions in the Spartans’ coach.

“Not just this year’s team. We had a ton of alums who were from Michigan that were at that game,” Rensing said of the 2-1 Elite Eight victory over James Madison. “I’ve always believed in that. You just want to see it solidified for those guys, for the alums, and that Final Four does put a little solidification to what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. And for a while, it was hard to come by. I think that’s what made this a little more sweet.”

A 'dream come true’ for Joe Baum

Joe Baum coached Michigan State’s soccer program for 32 years, 22 of them winning seasons, before giving way to his assistant and former player, Rensing. He never got this far as a coach, though he was a goalkeeper on the MSU team that won consecutive national titles 50 years ago.

Watching his protege take the program to new heights has been, “like a wonderful dream come true,” Baum said this week. Baum has known Rensing since Rensing was a tyke. Baum grew up with Rensing’s father in St. Louis and played against him in the 1967 national championship game, a 0-0 tie between the Billikens and Spartans.

“Damon’s a great person, a great coach. I thought he could do this, I really did,” said Baum, who flew out with the team to Santa Barbara. “But it’s tough. It’s really, really hard to get that Final Four. But he did it. I'm just happy for everybody.”

Michigan State players celebrate with fans following their 2-1 win over James Madison, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 2-1.

Season saved by a meeting

In the pantheon of players-only meetings, a late-season hash-it-out session by Michigan State’s soccer team will go down as one of the most successful.

They’re usually brought on by dysfunction and losing, and rarely fix either.

The Spartans this year had a little of both. More like frustration and a lack of offense, scoring one goal over the last four games, including a loss to Maryland in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

The most talented and deepest team of Rensing’s tenure was on the NCAA tournament bubble.

“They’re really good kids, they’re really hard-working, but sometimes some leadership (needs to) be brought out a little bit,” Rensing said.

And thus, the players-only meeting, called by the eight players in MSU’s leadership group.

“I think we all felt something was needed,” said senior DeJuan Jones, a former East Lansing High School star. “A couple of the seniors, captains, including myself, decided we needed to have a meeting to make sure everyone had the same goal and just got our focus back that we had at the beginning of the season.

“Things like working hard for your teammates. Like if a teammate lost the ball, instead of putting our hands up and yelling at the guy and saying, ‘You should have done this!’ Proactive communication. If someone makes a mistake, lifting them up, sprinting back to make a recovery run for them and just realizing that everyone has each other’s back out there.

“When you’re winning, when you’re scoring goals, everything seems easy. As soon as things start going the other way, people just start to forget about the team concept and you start to think as an individual.

“I think the losses that we took and the scoring drought helped us to see what we shouldn’t do. We just wanted to figure things out, see where guys heads were at. Guys were just getting discouraged and I know we felt like nothing was working.”

COLLEGE CUP NATIONAL SEMIFINALS

WHO: Michigan State vs. Akron

WHEN: 8 p.m. EST Friday

WHERE: Meredith Field at Harder Stadium, Santa Barbara, California

TV: ESPNU (streaming available on WatchESPN)

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Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.