Spartans earn first-round NCAA Tournament bye

The MSU men’s soccer team is in.

On Monday night, the Spartans received a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament, earning a first-round bye and a home game in the second round of the tournament.

The Spartans will play the winner of Duke (12-6-0) and Winthrop (11-5-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.

MSU (11-7-2 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) finished the regular season in sixth place in the Big Ten and was eliminated in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

But because MSU loaded its nonconference slate with some of the best teams in the country, they were ranked the No. 14 team in a field of 48 teams.

It marks the third-straight season MSU has made into the NCAA Tournament.

“We are really excited,” MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. “We will play one of two great opponents. Winthrop has done well in the tournament the past couple years and Duke is a very good opponent. I think the guys were rewarded for playing a great schedule this year, and not even just playing a great schedule, but getting some results against Top-25 teams.”