Michigan State University
3-1-2
San Francisco
4-1-2
Goodenough Sends Spartans to Overtime; Settle for Tie
9/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Sometimes the scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story, as was the case in the Spartans' 1-1 double-overtime draw with the University of San Francisco on Friday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium.
The Dons were the first to get on the scoreboard in the 12th minute when junior Amanda Whittle scored by jumping on a loose ball in the box and sending it past Spartan senior goalkeeper Gabrielle Gauruder.
Gauruder finished the draw with seven saves, a new career high, putting her up to 25 total for the season.
Gauruder credited Michigan State goalkeeper coach Paul Gilbert for helping her know how to best execute her saves in net.
"Honestly, all the credit goes to my goalie coach because I watched game film with him," Gauruder said. "We worked on my set position and that's the only reason that I made some of those saves."
MSU generated multiple offensive looks during the first half, including senior Allyson Krause having a prime opportunity to score, but was while unfortunately offsides.
Reignited in the second half, the Spartans found their deliverance when senior Erica Goodenough followed through on a pass by rocketing the ball into the right corner of the Dons' goal for her first goal of the season. Teammates freshmen Michaela Kovacs and Alexis Warner provided the assists.
Head coach Tom Saxton praised Goodenough for having a "high soccer IQ."
"She's such a talented soccer player," Saxton said. "She scored big goals early in her career for us, and I wasn't surprised she took that chance."
Saxton credited both Goodenough and fellow senior Kelli Timar's strong performances to training with associate Tammy Farnum.
After the senior's goal, the Spartans seemed to find their second wind as they battled San Francisco through two overtimes. Gauruder come up with a critical save, knocking the ball above the crossbar off a Don shot in the first overtime. Meanwhile, senior Mary Kathryn Fiebernitz and sophomore Jamie Cheslik were both inches away from sealing the Don's fate, but couldn't connect fully off a corner and breakaway, respectively.
Also notable was the offensive effort of Kovacs, who paced the Spartan offense with four shots, including three on goal. Warner, Fiebernitz, and Cheslik had three shots apiece to contribute to Michigan State's total 20 shots.
Michigan State is now 3-1-2 and will host the University of New Mexico (2-3-0) on Sunday. The Michigan State women's soccer program will be celebrating their 30th season at that game by welcoming alumni back to DeMartin Stadium.
"We need to get recovered," Saxton said. "We're going to need more bodies on Sunday. From watching them on film [New Mexico] is athletic. They're a good soccer team."
Saxton said that while he thought his team had a slight edge over the San Francisco backline athletically, he does not see the same advantage to be held over New Mexico, saying that his team will need to be "more efficient in the final third."
Team Stats
WHITTLE, Amanda (2)
Loose ball in the box,scored from 15 yar
11:25
Goodenough, Erica (1)
Assisted By: Warner, Lexy , Kovacs, Michaela
Took a pass in the box,shot far left cor
74:57
