Michigan Sneaks Past Ohio State 2-1 in Double OT
November 06, 2003 | Women's Soccer
In last year's Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament, Ohio State topped Michigan 3-2 on penalty kicks after battling for 110 minutes of regulation and two overtimes tied 1-1. This year, however, Michigan would not allow the Buckeyes to repeat their performance as the No. 4 seed Wolverines defeated No. 20 and fifth-seed Ohio State in double overtime, 2-1.
The third of four quarterfinal games Thursday night at the McClimon Soccer Complex on the University of Wisconsin was nothing shy of a heavyweight fight. With just under five minutes remaining before both teams had to resort to penalty kicks once again, Michigan's Katie Kramer scored her second unassisted goal of the game.
Following a Michigan corner kick, a scramble for the ball ensued. The Wolverines drilled a shot of the far post, which reflected right into the middle of the box where players from each team were waiting. Kramer came away the lucky winner in the box and skipped it right past a diving Buckeye keeper, Staci Sinkway.
Michigan (8-6-6, 4-2-4) stormed to the lead right after the opening kick as Kramer scored unassisted from 20 yards out for her first of two goals on the evening. Heather Miller then took the reigns for Ohio State, firing two solid shots of her three on goal for the night at UM goalkeeper Megan Tuura, but both were stopped abruptly.
The Wolverines took their 1-0 lead into halftime with a slight 4-3 shot advantage.
'Tonight was a really hard fought game for us, said Michigan head coach Debbie Rademacher. 'Ohio State put a lot of pressure on us and we knew we weren't going to beat them in the air tonight, so it was important for us to keep the ball on the ground and possess it.'
Ohio State (11-4-3, 4-3-3) not only got a brief rest from the chilly 34-dgree Madison air, but they also heated up, and then carried that heat out onto the field. The Buckeyes' Colleen Hoban was served a ball that hovered the UM defense, which led to a breakaway that tied the game, 1-1, at the 66:21 mark. Hoban drilled her shot past Tuura, which was the lone hiccup in the freshman's seven-save, 105:08 minute performance Thursday.
Ohio State split time in goal with Emily Haynam, who had two saves in the first half, and Sinkway who took over for the final 60:08 and recorded three saves.
'Michigan took advantage, ran through the ball, and took enough shots (shots were tied 12-12) to win,' said Ohio State head coach Lori Walker. 'We played a hard fought game tonight and came back from an early deficit. We were also able to get solid minutes from some players that have missed time due to injury, which will help us should we get an NCAA bid.'
The win for the Wolverines is the second consecutive against a ranked opponent. Michigan entered the Big Ten Tournament on the heels of its 3-2 upset over No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend. The Wolverines, competing in their seventh overtime game of the season Thursday, improved its 2003 extra-session record to 2-0-5.
Michigan now moves on to the semifinal round and will play Friday at 7:30 p.m. CST. The Wolverines will face the winner of the Penn State/Wisconsin game, which is the final game of Thursday's quarterfinal action.
