EAST LANSING – The Detroit Titan men's soccer team defeated No. 19 Michigan State in overtime on Saturday afternoon by the final score of 1-0. Otieno Victor led the team to victory by connecting on a penalty kick.

Detroit renewed their in-state rivalry against Michigan State as the two teams had not previously met since the 1999 season. The last time the Titans defeated the Spartans was in 1997 when UDM won by the final score of 2-1 in East Lansing.

The Spartans controlled the action for most of the game, but the Detroit defense held strong. Anthony Shepherd got the start for Detroit in goal. The sophomore was excellent on Saturday as he ended the game with seven saves.

“That was an absolutely fantastic win,” Head Coach Nicholas Deren explained. “The team was resilient and I was very proud of how they stayed on task throughout all of the adversity.”

The Titans were forced to play a man down for nearly the entire second half after a red card was issued to Kevin Pinkos for a hard tackle. The Titan defense played exceptionally well to keep the Spartans off the scoreboard.

“This is a total team victory,” Deren added. “It's a great start to the season. Hopefully this will propel us forward for the rest of the season.”

Michigan State recorded 22 shots and took 16 corner kicks. They had a shot bounce off the post in overtime moments before Victor connected on the game-winner. Midway through the overtime Victor gained possession of the ball and dribbled up the far side of the field. After slashing through multiple defenders Victor was taken down from behind in the box and was therefore rewarded a penalty kick.

Victor drilled the ball to the bottom left hand side of the goal to beat Jeremy Clark giving Detroit their first win of the opening weekend since 2006.

Detroit will return to action with a game against Saint Joseph's on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7:00 p.m. The UDM home opener will be played on Sunday, Sept. 4 against Buffalo at 1:00 p.m.

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