Michigan
7-3-1
Penn State
8-1-1
Wolverines Fall to No. 5 Penn State in Double Overtime
10/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13 University of Michigan women's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to No. 5 Penn State in double overtime Friday afternoon (Oct. 1) at the U-M Soccer Field. Tiffany Weimer found the back of the net with 4:31 remaining in the second extra session to vault the Nittany Lions into first place in the Big Ten Conference standings ahead of Michigan. It was the Wolverines' first defeat in nine games and their first loss in league play this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Megan Tuura (St. Pius X Catholic HS) had a spectacular performance in net, finishing with a career-high nine saves, including three in extra time.
Penn State looked as if it was going to do immediate damage on the offensive end, but Sophie Hiller's shot six minutes into the game went wide after she went one-on-one with Tuura. Michigan's first attempt on goal came with 25 minutes left in the first half, as freshman Melissa Dobbyn's (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) blast from the top of the box was scooped up by PSU goalkeeper Erin McLeod.
The Nittany Lions continue to threaten in the latter stages of the half, with Weimer chipping a ball over a charging Tuura just high and over the net. With six minutes remaining until the break, Weimer took a cross and flicked it into the arms of Tuura and the two teams went into halftime searching for a goal.
Hiller got things started once again for Penn State in the second half, but her shot deflected off Tuura out of bounds and the Wolverines were able to clear out the ensuing corner kick. U-M's closest chance at a score came with over 18 minutes left, as Dobbyn fired a shot from about 30 yards out just high over the crossbar.
Penn State nearly put home a goal with under nine minutes left in regulation, but freshman Kandice McLaughlin (West Hills, Calif./El Camino Real HS) hustled to a wide-open Carmelina Moscato and blocked her shot out of danger. Two minutes later, senior Rachel Rothenbach (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) made a similar defensive stop on the opposite post, as she chased down Weimer before she could get off a solid shot.
The Wolverines looked poised to end the game before the end of regulation, but sophomore Katelin Spencer's (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) shot from the right side of the 18-yard box sailed just high of the upper right corner of the cage. Michigan's last chance before overtime came with under a minute left, as Dobbyn got behind the defense and was headed toward the PSU goal. However, Dobbyn was tripped up by a Nittany Lion defender and was eventually called for a hand ball.
The first overtime session saw each goalkeeper make one save and the Wolverine defense clear out two Penn State corner kicks. Tuura continued to bail Michigan out of trouble with a save in traffic on a shot by Stephanie Pezzulo before making a leaping stop on a wide-open attempt by Weimer with 5:30 remaining. Unfortunately, U-M was unable to solve Penn State's next attempt, as Weimer chased down an open ball before a charging Tuura could get to it and took it in unchallenged to end the game and send Michigan to its first overtime loss of the year.
The Wolverines (7-3-1, 4-1 Big Ten) look to get back on track with a match against No. 21 Ohio State on Sunday (Oct. 3). The noon game will begin with a ceremony honoring Michgan's eight-member senior class.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT | OT | F |
| Penn State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2OT -- PSU, Tiffany Weimer, 105:29 (Natalie Jacobs)
Shots: U-M 6, PSU 17
Saves: U-M 9 (Megan Tuura), PSU 2 (Erin McLeod)
Corner Kicks: U-M 3, PSU 6
Fouls: U-M 14, PSU 15
Cards: PSU, Tiffany Weimer, 48:39 (yellow); U-M, Emily Kalmbach, 88:30 (yellow)
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On playing a dangerous team like Penn State If you have one half-chance or one missed play, then a good team is going to capitalize on that. We had our opportunities and we didnt capitalize. Megan made a bunch of incredible saves to keep us in the game.
On what was said to the team after the loss I told them that we must be ready for Sunday. If we want to be in the Big Ten championship hunt, then Ohio State is the next team to beat. We just have to pick our heads up and learn from our mistakes. We cant keep relying on our goalkeeper to make those amazing saves. Our luck is eventually going to run out and weve got to get the ball out of there. I thought we had some good pressure in the first overtime. Tiffany Weimer has scored most of their goals and we just took our eyes off of her for a minute.
On preparing for Ohio State The most important thing for us is that we have to have our bodies ready to go. We had some people who played a hard game for over 100 minutes. Weve lost before; we just have to bounce back. We just have to get our bodies back.
N O T E S
Megan Tuura finished the game with a career-high nine saves. Her previous career best was an eight-save effort in Michigan's 3-2 road victory over Notre Dame last season (Oct. 29).
Megan Tuura allowed her first goal in over 417 minutes of action dating back to Sept. 17.
Michigan falls to 2-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season.
The Wolverines drop to 4-9-3 against Penn State in the all-time series.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
Weimer, Tiffany
Assisted By: Jacobs, Natalie
goalkeeper came out, Weimer in all-alone
105:29
