Michigan
8-6-5, 4-3-3Big Ten
Michigan State
8-9-1, 4-6Big Ten
U-M Drops Regular-Season Finale at Michigan State
10/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Old College Field)
Score: Michigan State 1, Michigan 0
Records: U-M (8-6-5, 4-3-3 Big Ten), MSU (8-9-1, 4-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Nov. 2 -- vs. Indiana at Big Ten Quarterfinals (State College, Pa.), 7:30 p.m.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team fell 1-0 in its regular-season finale at Michigan State Friday afternoon (Oct. 27) at Old College Field. In a choppy, physical battle, the Spartans earned the game-winner in the 63rd minute and packed in the defense for the remainder of the game, stifling Michigan's chance for the tying marker.
Goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic) was tested early, punching away a high header on a Michigan State corner kick in the eighth minute. The save set up the Wolverines best offensive sequence of the afternoon, beginning in the 13th minute. Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) fired two shots on goal, but Michigan State goalkeeper Nicole Galas made the first two of her five saves on the day. Lindsey Cottrell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central) then took a cross and headed one on net that Galas reached out and stopped.
Minutes later, Sarah Banco (Medfield, Mass./Noble and Greenough School) created space inside the box and ripped a shot that the MSU defense blocked away, and the Wolverines went into halftime in a scoreless tie for the 11th time this season.
Michigan opened the half with offensive pressure, nearly capitalizing on a corner kick in the 56th minute. Judy Coffman (San Jose, Calif./Santa Theresa) served a ball far post to Katelin Spencer (Brighton, Mich./Brighton, Mich.), who leaped and headed the ball toward the upper corner, but Galas got a hand out and made the save.
The Spartans answered, scoring the only goal of the afternoon at 62:06. After Lauren Sinacola's shot from the top of the 18-yard box struck the crossbar, Jenee Witherspoon put home the rebound, moving the score to 1-0.
The Maize and Blue had a tough time gaining space to create scoring chances following the Spartans' goal, as Michigan State packed the backline. The Wolverines' corner kick in the 80th minute resulted in an opening for Katie Bohard (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central), but her shot bounced off an MSU defender, hit the post and dribbled out of danger.
Michigan generated once last-ditch effort to tie the game in the final seconds. Katie Miler (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) raced down the right sideline and fired a cross into the box that tailed on goal. Galas punched the ball away, securing the MSU win.
Next up for the Wolverines is the Big Ten Tournament, which begins next week at Jeffrey Field in State College, Pa. Michigan holds the fifth seed and will take on Indiana at 7:30 p.m. EST.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan State | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
2nd -- MSU, Jenee Witherspoon, 62:06 (Lauren Sinacola)
Shots: U-M 8, MSU 9
Shots on Goal: U-M 5, MSU 3
Saves: U-M 2 (Megan Tuura), MSU 5 (Nicole Galas)
Corner Kicks: U-M 7, MSU 4
Fouls: U-M 12, MSU 22
Cards: MSU, Maureen Pawlak, 60:58 (yellow); MSU, Lauren Sinacola, 86.34 (yellow)
NOTES
• Michigan ends the regular season having allowed two goals in the first half and 17 goals overall.
• The Wolverines' unbeaten streak of six games (3-0-3) ends after today's loss.
• Michigan is 8-4-3 in the all-time series with the Spartans.
• U-M is 0-3-1 against the Spartans in its past four trips to East Lansing, and holds a 2-4-2 all-time mark in regular-season games at Michigan State.
• Melissa Dobbyn led the Wolverines with three shots, all of which were on goal. She was the lone Michigan player to collect more than one shot in today's match.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On the regular season ... "We picked it up toward the end of the season and won some games to put us in a position to get into the Big Ten Tournament. We are looking to have a good showing in the conference tournament to be able to make NCAAs. Had we won today, we would have had good opportunity to get in. We now have to win the conference tournament or at the very least go all the way to the conference finals in order to be considered for the NCAA Tournament."
On winning despite the injuries to key players ... "Succeeding in the face of adversity has been a big theme this season. We couldnt play Amy (Klippert) today because of the cards and we are missing two other starters to injury. But other people have stepped up to help in our success in the second half of the season which is a promising quality."
Team Stats
WITHERSPOON, Jenee (1)
Assisted By: SINACOLA, Lauren
rebound off crossbar
62:06
