The Spartans were able to escape the first half with a scoreless tie, much in part due to redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Sierra Patton. Patton was tasked with facing five penalty corners in the first half alone, and made five huge saves to keep the score knotted at zeroes. 

It was not the start the head coach Helen Knull was looking for, as her team was out shot 9-1 to go along with the 5-0 advantage in penalty corners. 

Gebhart dealt a crucial blow to the Spartans right out of the gate in the second half. After dribbling into the circle, Gebhart got past an MSU defender and fired a shot near-post that Patton couldn't get to in time. 

Sensing the urgency, MSU immediately picked up its play and got the better chances late in the game. After another huge save from Patton in the closing minutes, MSU got one last chance as they were awarded a penalty corner as time expired. The Nittany Lions defended the corner well, but a kicked ball forced the referee to give the Spartans another penalty corner and another chance to stay alive. 

After senior back Alli Helwig's shot was saved, senior forward Allie Ahern had another chance near the goal line, but was stopped and the ball was cleared. With that, the game ended with MSU's season.

After defining clear preseason goals of winning the Big Ten and making the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, MSU is sure to be disappointed with how the 2014 season ended. However, looking back, the Spartans were much more competitive than what their 10-9 record might indicate. Of their nine losses, seven came by one goal and three of those went to overtime. Additionally, five losses were to teams currently ranked in the Top-10. 

Come next year, MSU might want to adopt an adage that head football coach Mark Dantonio used heading into the historic 2013 season. With so many close calls and disheartening losses, it might come down to just finding the inches.