For women’s soccer the goal to go undefeated at home is lost for the season as the Spartans fell 3-0 to No. 12 Penn State on Sunday.
MSU (8-3 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) managed to hang with the Nittany Lions (8-2-1, 4-1) through the first half, giving up just one score.
Although an ailing Spartan defense allowed Penn State to pepper junior goalie Stacy Heller with 22 shots for the game, head coach Tom Saxton said the main problem in the matchup wasn’t injuries, but the team’s lack of energy.
“Sunday games in the Big Ten, you’re tired and you need to be emotionally into it,” Saxton said. “For whatever reason for half an hour at the start of the second half our kids weren’t, and that ended up costing us today for sure.”
The Nittany Lions’ first score came off the foot of forward Christie Welch at the 14:55 mark in the game.
The Spartans played an even match the remainder of the half, trailing 1-0 to start the second.
In the final 45 minutes MSU came out sluggish, allowing Penn State to add two more goals to its lead. Heller was caught out in front of the net, allowing forward Tiffany Weimer to score the first. The second was a bullet from midfielder Joanna Lohman that fired past Heller at the 79:40 mark to make the final score 3-0.
“It’s definitely tough because you want to step up and make those big plays,” Heller said. “But when you allow 22 shots it’s kind of hard to be on your feet all the time.
“The best thing we can do is shake this game off and come back strong against Indiana-Purdue, put some in the back of the net and get our confidence back.”
On Friday MSU fared better, defeating Ohio State (3-7-1, 1-3-1) 3-2. The Spartans jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, getting goals from sophomore midfielder Ashley Lawson and junior forward Tiffany Laskowski in the first half.
A driving rainstorm forced a 10-minute delay in the second half. Shortly after, forward Colleen Hoban put the Buckeyes on the board.
MSU answered at the 84:48 mark when freshman forward Emma Harris put one between the posts for her sixth goal of the season. Ohio State would score less than a minute later to trim the lead to one, but the Spartans hung on for the 3-2 victory.
MSU’s next game is Tuesday against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (1-7-1). Kickoff is 4 p.m. at Old College Field.
