Michigan Ties No. 1 Penn State, Advances on PKs

Thursday, November 3

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

7-8-4

Penn State

19-0-1

OT 3

OT 4

Penn State

Michigan

11/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Matt Baumer

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Field)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Quarterfinals)
Score: Michigan 3, #1 Penn State 3 (2OT) -- U-M advances on penalty kicks, 4-2
Records: U-M (7-8-4), PSU (19-0-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 4 -- vs. Illinois in Big Ten Semifinals (U-M Soccer Field), 7:30 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team advanced past the No. 1-ranked team in the nation on Thursday night (Nov. 3) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, winning a shootout (4-2) over undefeated Penn State after ending regulation tied 3-3 and ending the Wolverines' three-game losing streak against the Nittany Lions. Senior forward Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South) scored two goals and converted a penalty kick in the shootout to lead the host Wolverines, who will face Illinois at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Nov. 4) at the U-M Soccer Field.

Sophomore forward Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) scored the first goal of the game, and junior defender Brenna Mulholland (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) scored the clinching penalty kick. Junior goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St, Pius X Catholic) came up huge with eight saves and made the only save by either keeper in the shootout.

In the shootout, Carmelina Moscato scored first for Penn State, but junior midfielder Judy Coffman (San Jose, Calif./Santa Theresa) answered for Michigan. After Jean Rettig's attempt rang off of the post, Heaton took advantage of her chance, burying it high to give U-M a 2-1 edge. Both third shooters coverted, Allie Long for the Nittany Lions and senior midfielder Stephanie Boyles (Arvada, Colo./Pomona) for the Wolverines. Tuura then stoned Sarah Dwyer with a dive to her left, giving Mullholland the chance to clinch it, and she ripped her shot low to the left side to push the Wolverines into the semifinal round.

Penn State started the scoring early at 4:04 on a goal from Ali Krieger. Sheree Gray sent cross from right to left toward the far post, Tiffany Weimer headed it to the middle of the six-yard box, and Krieger tapped it in to move the score to 1-0.

The Wolverines were not fazed and tied the game just over 10 minutes later at 14:50. Dobbyn took a pass along the right sideline from junior defender Katelin Spencer (Brighton, Mich./Brighton). Dobbyn then deked a Penn State defender and rocketed a shot over Penn State goalkeeper Erin McLeod to the far left post from just over 30 yards out along the right sideline to make the score 1-1.

Moscato made it 2-1 Lions less than two minutes later at 16:36. Weimer sent a long cross to the far left post to Moscato, who tipped it into the top of the net. Moscato nearly gave the Penn State a two-goal lead minutes later, but Tuura stoned her from close in to keep it a one-goal game.

Michigan's best chance to tie the game in the first half came in the 40th minute on another shot by Dobbyn. She took a feed at the top of the 18-yard box and fired a low shot that just went wide and the Wolverines went to half down 2-1.

Heaton's leadership showed up in the second half as she wasted no time in tying the game less than four minutes into the second half at 48:54. Spencer kept the play alive in the box during a scramble and tipped the ball to Heaton off a Penn State defender. Heaton settled the ball in the middle of the box and ripped a shot past McLeod to make it 2-2.

Tuura came up big again in the 76th minute, stifling a Penn State transition with a stellar save on Aubrey Aden-Buie. Artsis nearly took advantage of a Penn State mishap in the 80th minute. McLeod attempted to clear the ball out of the box, but it hit a Michigan forward and bounced directly to Artsis, who from 25 yards out fired a shot that McLeod leaped and blocked as she ran back to her goal.

The Wolverines took advantage of their one and only corner of the game with less than seven minutes to play. Coffman's corner kick attempt sailed over the box, but freshman midfielder Danelle Underwood (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) was able to settle it and feed it back into the box to Boyles. Boyles flicked the pass from the near post into the middle to Heaton, who nailed it home to put the Wolverines up 3-2 at 83:35.

Michigan looked to be on its way to the upset, but with 24 seconds remaining in the game, Tuura came out to clear a bouncing ball in the box and tackled a Lion player. Penn State was awarded a penalty kick with 24 ticks remaining and Weimer did not miss, sending the game to overtime, tied 3-3. Just 50 seconds into overtime, Nittany Lion Allie Long ripped a shot from inside the 18-yard box, but the shot sailed high over the bar.

Michigan's best opportunity came with four minutes remaining in the second OT. Heaton and a Penn State defender were each racing for a thru-ball at the top of the 18-yard box. Heaton won the ball and ripped the shot past McLeod into the open net, but Heaton was whistled for a foul on the play, which negated the potential game-winner and sent the game to the shootout.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	OT	OT	F	PK
Penn State	2	1	0	0	3	2
Michigan	1	2	0	0	3	4

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- PSU, Ali Krieger, 4:04 (Tiffany Weimer, Sheree Gray)
1st -- U-M, Melissa Dobbyn, 14:50 (Katelin Spencer)
1st -- PSU, Carmelina Moscato, 16:36 (Weimer)
2nd -- U-M, Therese Heaton, 48:54 (Danelle Underwood, Stephanie Boyles)
2nd -- U-M, Heaton, 83:35 (unassisted)
2nd -- PSU, Weimer, 89:36 (penalty kick)

Penalty Kicks Shootout
PK -- PSU, Carmelina Moscato (good)
PK -- U-M, Judy Coffman (good)
PK -- PSU, Jean Rettig (missed)
PK -- U-M, Therese Heaton (good)
PK -- PSU, Allie Long (good)
PK -- U-M, Stephanie Boyles (good)
PK -- PSU, Sarah Dwyer (missed)
PK -- U-M, Brenna Mulholland (good) -- U-M advances on penalty kicks, 4-2

Shots: U-M 18, PSU 29
Saves: U-M 8 (Megan Tuura), PSU 5 (Erin McLeod)
Corner Kicks: U-M 1, PSU 7
Fouls: U-M 20, PSU 29
Cards: PSU, Natalie Jacobs, 74:36 (yellow)

NOTES

• The last time the Wolverines won a shootout came in the program's inaugural season in 1994 when Michigan defeated Penn State in penalty kicks 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament after entering the shootout tied 1-1. The only other game in school history the Wolverines had a game decided in a shootout came in 2002 when Ohio State defeated Michigan 3-2 in penalty kicks after entering the shootout tied 1-1 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

• This marks the third straight year Michigan has advanced to the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. U-M is now 14-8-3 in the postseason event.

• Michigan ended a three-game losing streak against Penn State. U-M's last success against the Nittany Lions was a 4-0 shutout of PSU in 2002. This also ended a two-game losing streak in the Big Ten Tournament against the Nittany Lions.

• Therese Heaton moved into sole possession of fourth place on Michigan's all-time points list with 80 following her two-goal outburst. Her two goals also move her into a tie with Jessica Limauro (1995-98) for fourth place in all-time goals with 31.

• Heaton moved into a tie with Abby Crumpton (1999-2002) for second place in career games played by a Wolverine with 90. Friday's game against Illinois (Nov. 4) will move her into a tie for first place. She has started 70 games in her career, which is the eighth most in school history.

• Heaton's 28 points this season are the most she has had in one season during her four-year career. She collected 24 points on 10 goals and four assists in 2002. Her 11 goals this season are also a career-best season total. Her 10 goals in 2002 were her previous high.

• Therese Heaton netted two or more goals for the second time this season. She had a hat trick against Western Michigan on Sept. 16.

• Stephanie Boyles earned her first point of the season on her second-half assist. Her last assist came during her sophomore year in 2003 when she picked up her only assist of that season on the game-winning goal against Central Michigan on Oct. 19.

• Judy Coffman led the Wolverines in shots with five, upping her season total to 61, which is good for second on the team.

• Megan Tuura's eight saves mark her third highest total of the season. Her 236 career saves rank third in school history. She had a career-high 12 saves at Kansas on Aug. 26.

• Katelin Spencer earned her fourth assist of the season in the first half. Her four assists are a new career-best season total, surpassing last season's assist total of three.

• Melissa Dobbyn netted her 11th goal of the season in the first half. She now has a team-leading 30 points this season. The last Wolverine to reach the 30-point plateau was Abby Crumpton (1999-2002) in 2002, when she tallied 35 points on 11 goals and 13 assists.

• Dobbyn's four shots give her a shot in every game this season. Her team-leading 84 shots this season are five shy of her shot total in 2004, when she fired the second most shots in a season in school history (89). Her 84 shots are the third most in a season in Michigan history. Abby Crumpton also had 84 in 1999.

• Danelle Underwood's second-half assist gives her 13 points, which is the most by any Wolverine freshman this season. Her 13 points are the third most on the team.

• Lindsey MacDonald made the first start of her career. All of her 10 previous games came as a reserve.

• Heaton and Dobbyn have each netted 11 goals this season. The last Wolverine to notch 11 goals in a season was Abby Crumpton in 2002 when she had 11. The last time Michigan had two double-digit goal scorers was in 1999 when Crumpton scored 12 and Kacy Beitel (1997-2000) netted 15.

QUOTES

Michigan Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On bouncing back from an early deficit ... "You settle into your game and come to know what to expect. They just had that momentum in the first half and they were running at us. Once they get a head of speed going, they have a lot of speed, and we had a hard time containing it."

On the team's effort ... "Therese (Heaton) had two goals. (Melissa) Dobbyn played well. I thought Skylar (Andrews) had a great second half. Everybody really did their part from the second half on. I thought it was a good team effort."

On the penalty kick with just 24 seconds to play ... "That was a heartbreaker. It could have been a disaster for us if we folded, but we didn't. Our leadership kept the team together and we pulled it out."

U-M Junior Goalkeeper Megan Tuura
On tonight's game ... "We were awesome. We dominated Penn State for a lot of the game. Coming out against the No. 1-ranked team and doing that well is unbelievable. I'm so proud of everyone on my team."

On the second-half defense ... "We played much better. We were a lot more clean and on top of everything. Everyone did awesome."

U-M Junior Defender Brenna Mulholland
On the second-half defense ... "Getting in there and capitalizing on opportunities, our defense held strong. I'm really proud of them. We didn't get a shutout, but that doesn't matter, we got a win."

On Melissa Dobbyn's goal ... "Okay, that first shot was sick, first of all -- unbelievable. It's crucial. I mean, that sets the tone for the rest of the game, it gets the momentum going. It was unbelievable."

U-M Senior Forward Therese Heaton
On the goal called back in overtime ... "It was disappointing, but it was just another thing that was trying to stand in our way and we weren't gonna let anything -- no call. You can't dwell on it, you can't change it. And we were just going to do everything we could to deal with everything that was in our control, and the calls, maybe they didn't go the way we thought they should have, but we didn't let that get in the way of us fighting hard until the end."

On scoring quickly coming out of halftime ... "We knew at halftime we were in the game -- it was 1-1, 2-1. The goals they scored weren't anything special. They were things we could clean up defensively. And we knew, this was it, this was our season, if we lost we were going home, we were done. And the seniors weren't ready for to be done, our teammates weren't ready to be done. We weren't going to hang up the cleats."