EAST LANSING, Mich. (9-1-25) - After 374:21 minutes of shutout soccer and three consecutive clean sheets, sophomore Colin Monroe surrendered the first goal of the season as Detroit Mercy battled but came up short, 1-0, at Michigan State on Labor Day at DeMartin Soccer Stadium.

"Football is harsh sometimes, and the ball doesn't always bounce your way," said Head Coach Nate Kopunek. "We need to finish our chances when we got them, and unfortunately, we didn't today. We play these games to learn from them, and I am confident our group will do just that. The positive from this is that we limited their chances, defended well, and have only given up one goal on the year so far."

Junior Drew Pierson had UDM's (2-1-1) best chance near the end of the first half in the 43rd minute as he almost connected on yet another long-range free kick, but MSU (2-1) goalkeeper Zac Kelly saved his shot. 

After both teams entered halftime scoreless, senior Guershom Sylvain almost got the Titans on the board in the 55th minute of the second half. He broke into the box one-on-one with the last MSU defender and flicked a low shot to the far right post past Kelly, but just missed in the lower 90.

Detroit Mercy was assessed a red card in the 76th minute, and MSU took full advantage of the Titans playing with 10 men. 

Monore mishandled a header off a throw-in, dropped the ball for a split second, which fell at the feet of MSU's Luke Spadafore, who pounced on the loose ball and fired it into the back of the net for the eventual game-winner. 

Detroit Mercy's five-game swing continues at Chicago State on Friday, Sept. 5, at 9 p.m. ET.