Senior midfielder Megan Brown jumps to block Michigan midfielder Meaghan Hennessy so that the ball went out of bounds on U-M late in the first half of Sunday’s game at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field. The teams went into their third consecutive season of a stalemate between the teams, after the game ended with a score of 0-0 after two overtimes.
The MSU women’s soccer team had plenty of scoring chances against Michigan on Sunday afternoon, but time after time the Spartans simply couldn’t take advantage of them.
Luckily for the Green and White, neither could the Wolverines, as the in-state rivals played to a 0-0 tie at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.
“We created a lot of opportunities and we played well as a team, but we just didn’t get the ball in the back of the net today,” senior defender Megan Brown said. “It’s a little frustrating, but we’re happy with the tie.”
Sunday’s game marked the third consecutive tie between the Spartans (7-1-4 overall, 1-1-2 Big Ten) and Wolverines (5-6-2, 0-1-2) in a series that has been defined by close play. Each team has won nine games in the all-time set, and Sunday’s game was the sixth tie in the series’ history, including the fifth draw in the last 11 games.
In the first half, a rebound shot from sophomore forward Laura Heyboer was stopped by U-M goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer. Later, a pass from Heyboer to sophomore midfielder Megan Pines was too long as Kopmeyer beat Pines to the ball.
The Spartans continued to find chances as they tried to spread out the field to attack.
“They were obviously playing a defensive style against us, so we kept saying, ‘Go to the wings,’” head coach Tom Saxton said. “(We) got better and better at that as time went on, and I was really proud of how we managed our game within the game. We just left a few out there.”
The Wolverines didn’t get off a shot in either overtime session, while MSU’s best chance came in the first overtime when Heyboer had a shot six yards out that Kopmeyer easily saved.
Heyboer had five of MSU’s 11 shots, including four on goal, while senior forward Lauren Hill and sophomore midfielder Hannah Peterson also each had quality chances.
MSU outshot U-M 11-5.
“It’s all about chances,” Hill said. “More chances, more shots and hopefully more goals, but things didn’t go our way.”
Historically tight games between the Spartans and Wolverines aside, ties have become a trend for MSU in the past month. Sunday’s tie was the Spartans’ second in a row, and third in its last five matches.
Although a tie is better than a loss, Saxton said the Spartans are getting to the point in the season where they need to start picking up wins.
“Because we have a lot of opportunities in front of us … we’re definitely going to need to find some wins down the stretch,” Saxton said of the team’s impending schedule. “It’s nice to have played 12 games now and only lost one, but the bottom line at the end of the day is we’re going to need to get to double figures in wins (to accomplish our goals), and to do that we’re going to need to take every opportunity we can.”
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