Kramer Lifts U-M Past Buckeyes in Big Ten Quarterfinals

Thursday, November 6

Madison, Wis.

4:30 PM CT

Michigan

8-6-6, 4-2-4

Ohio State

11-4-3, 4-3-3

OT 3

OT 4

Ohio State

Michigan

Kramer Lifts U-M Past Buckeyes in Big Ten Quarterfinals

11/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team pulled out a 2-1 victory over No. 20-ranked Ohio State in double overtime Thursday evening (Nov. 6) in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at the McClimon Soccer Complex. Sophomore forward Katie Kramer (Andover, Mass./Andover HS) scored early in the first half and added the game-winner late in the second extra period to send fourth-seeded Michigan to the semifinals. Freshman goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic HS) made seven saves in the win. Ohio State, the fifth seed in the tournament, drops to 12-4-3 with the loss.

Kramer's golden goal came with 4:52 left in the second overtime. Junior Robyn Vince (Holt, Mich./Holt HS) took a corner kick for U-M and placed it perfectly in front of the net. Sophomore Whitney Kjar's (Sandy, Utah/Skyline HS) header deflected off the crossbar and back into play, and freshman Katelin Spencer (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) got a foot on the rebound. OSU goalkeeper Staci Sinkway made a save on the shot, but senior Stephanie Chavez (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood HS) was able to jar the ball back into play. Kramer then joined the scramble and eventually put the ball in the back of the net to end the game.

The Buckeyes earned their first solid scoring chance with a corner kick five minutes into the contest, but the ball was punched out of danger by Tuura. Four minutes later, Kramer collected an open ball at the top left of the box, turned and sent a nice shot into the top right corner past the arms of OSU goalkeeper Emily Haynam to put Michigan up 1-0 with 36:20 left in the first half.

Michigan dodged a bullet at 38:45, as Tuura was able to come out and beat an OSU player to an open ball at the top of the box. With just over 33 minutes left until halftime, freshman Judy Coffman (San Jose, Calif./Santa Theresa HS) was set to take U-M's first corner kick of the game. Coffman's ball sailed toward the front of the net, but Kjar's header was grabbed by Haynam.

Ohio State nearly tied the game eight minutes later, as a Heather Miller strike in front was tipped up and over the cage by Tuura. The ensuing corner kick by Ohio State was cleared out by the Wolverines.

Michigan finished the first 45 minutes with four shots, while the Buckeyes got off three. Tuura went into the break with one save, with Haynam making three stops for OSU.

OSU got another great chance in the ninth minute of the second half, when Tuura was unable to keep her hands on ball after a save on a shot by Taylor Smith. Fortunately, Tuura was able to recover the open ball before a charging Jen Heaney could get to it.

The Buckeyes notched the equalizer at 66:21, as Colleen Hoban lobbed a pass to Emily Francis, who put the ball past Tuura from the right side to knot the score at 1-1. Minutes later, Ohio State looked to take the lead, but Tuura was able to make a stop in front on a shot by Hoban.

With under 10 minutes remaining in the game, senior Erika Kleinholz (North Ridgeville, Ohio/Elyria Catholic HS) served the ball from the right endline into the box, where sophomore Therese Heaton (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South HS) headed it backwards onto the foot of Spencer, but her attempt fell into the hands of OSU reserve goalkeeper Sinkway.

Michigan's final chance in regulation came with just under six minutes left, as Coffman's shot from inside left of the box was stopped by Sinkway and the two teams prepared for the first extra period.
 
Ohio State took control early on in the first overtime and kept the ball down on Michigan's end for a majority of the 10 minutes. U-M's only chance came with under a minute to go, as a Coffman corner kick was headed into the hands of Sinkway by a diving Kjar. Time eventually ran out for both squads and the game headed to the second overtime.

The Wolverines (8-6-6) advance to the semifinals to face No. 8 seed and host Wisconsin, which upset top-seeded Penn State on penalty kicks (4-3) after the teams battled to a scoreless tie through two overtime periods. The Wolverines and Badgers will meet Friday (Nov. 7) at 7:30 p.m. CST at the McClimon Soccer Complex.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	OT	OT	F
Ohio State	0	1	0	0	1
Michigan	1	0	0	1	2

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- U-M, Katie Kramer, 8:40 (unassisted)
2nd -- OSU, Colleen Hoban, 66:21 (Emily Francis)
OT -- U-M, Kramer, 105:08 (unassisted)

Shots: U-M 12, OSU 12
Saves: U-M 7 (Megan Tuura), OSU 5 (Staci Sinkway 3, Emily Haynam 2)
Corner Kicks: U-M 5, OSU 6
Fouls: U-M 13, OSU 18
Cards: None

Q U O T E S

U-M Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On the game ... "It was just a hard-fought game. Ohio State puts a lot of pressure in a lot of different ways. They really came at us and gave us a lot of pressure. They're dangerous on the corner kicks. I just give credit to the team. It was kind of a rollercoaster, but we played well at the end and held tough. We just scrapped and made something of that last corner kick."

On Michigan's play in the two overtimes ... "We were not going to beat Ohio State in the air. They were knocking some balls back in there and they've got some speed. Once we realized that we needed to keep the ball on the ground, things worked better for us."

Sophomore Forward Katie Kramer
On scoring the two goals ... "It's a great feeling. We knew this was a big game and one we needed to get into the NCAA Tournament. We worked really hard and the ball came to me and I tried my hardest to get the ball in the net."

N O T E S

Kramer's two goals against the Buckeyes bring her season and career total to five. She ranks second on the team with 11 points this season.

Kramer's multi-goal game was the first of her career and the first by a Wolverine this season. 

Michigan improves its all-time record against Ohio State to 5-8-1.

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423