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NCAA women Top-ranked Penn State is eliminated by Michigan in Big Ten quarterfinal penalty kicks.
With the game officially recorded as a draw, the Nittany Lions (19-0-1) remained undefeated and will still be considered for one of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament, but it will be Michigan (7-8-4) that faces Illinois in the Friday semifinals. Senior striker Terese Heaton scored twice for Michigan, which twice erased deficits in the match and would have won in regulation had it not conceded a penalty kick with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. Trailing 3-2 with time winding down, PSU pushed everyone forward, resulting in a traffic in the box. Lions defender Natalie Jacobs was taken down by Michigan junior goalkeeper Megan Tuura, who had ventured far out of the goal. Striker Tiffany Weimer converted the penalty kick for her 26th goal of the season and a 3-3 tie. Weimer trails only Portland forward Christine Sinclair, who has 30 goals, in NCAA Division 1 scoring. Both had streaks of finding net in 17 straight games ended recently and they share the Division I record. PSU went ahead 1-0 after freshman midfielder Sheree Gray crossed to Weimer who touched to junior midfielder Ali Krieger. Krieger scored her seventh goal of the season from inside the box with 4:15 elapsed. The Wolverines answered with a long strike from the right side. Sophomore striker Melissa Dobbyn took a pass from junior midfielder Katelyn Spencer and blasted a shot high into the far corner of the goal to tie the game at 1-1 at 14:50. The Lions needed less than two minutes to regain a 2-1 advantage Freshman midfielder Allie Long found Weimer on the right side. Weimer crossed it to a waiting senior attacker Carmelina Moscato who shot from a severe and found the top corner of the net with her seventh tally, leaving Tuura no chance to save it. The Lions continued to threaten and in the 27th minute, Moscato hit the post and Krieger just missed high. UM pulled even again at 2-2 when Heaton gained control of a loose ball and buried it high into the top right corner of the net at 48:54. The Wolverines then went ahead with 6:25 remaining to play on another goal from Heaton. After PSU senior keeper made a save, Heaton put away the rebound to make it 3-2. Two 10-minute sudden-death periods failed to secede a winner. In penalty kicks, Penn State went first with Moscato converting. Michigan's Judy Kauffman answered. Then, Nittany Lions midfielder Jean Rettig hit the post while Heaton converted to put the Wolverines up 2-1. Long made good and PSU was even at 2-2. Wolverines junior midfielder Stephanie Boyles just beat a diving McLeod for a 3-2 lead. After Tuura made a save on PSU junior Sarah Dwyer, Bresnna Mulholland converted and Michigan advanced 4-2. |
