
Spartans Topped Late by Nittany Lions
10/5/2018 11:21:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Michaela Kovacs scored her second goal of the season for MSU.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Penn State scored the game-winning goal in the 98th minute to escape DeMartin Stadium with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Michigan State women's soccer team Friday night.
Redshirt-junior defender Michaela Kovacs put away her second goal of the season in the loss for the Spartans (5-5-3, 0-4-2 Big Ten). Penn State improved to 8-5-0 and 4-2-0 in conference play with the win.
"I thought our effort was great, and we played well defensively against a potent offensive attack in Penn State," MSU head coach Tom Saxton said. "Our emphasis in training this week was offense, and I thought we had great flow to the goal. We had a couple near misses tonight. We've seen this before, but we're making progress."
It was the third straight one-goal loss in Big Ten play for the hard luck Spartans, who keep coming close, but haven't been able to come out on top.
How It Happened: MSU played its most aggressive offensive soccer in weeks, creating opportunities in the scoring third. After a flurry of shots just before the 10-minute mark, the Spartans were the first to break through in the 20th minute.
Sophomore Danielle Stephan took one of her signature bending corner kicks, sending a ball into the box that Kovacs was able to get a head on, and sneak past Nittany Lions keeper Amanda Dennis for a 1-0 Spartan lead.
PSU would find its equalizer in the 36th minute, when Kristin Schnurr took a pass into box from Emily Ogle, and finished far post, past a diving Reilley Ott in goal to make it 1-1.
The two teams traded chances for the go-ahead goal throughout the second half. In the 78th minute, freshman defender Samantha White made the defensive play of the season to this point. A Penn State corner kick was sent into the box, and redirected to goal by PSU's Kerry Abello, but White was able to get a foot on it, and deflect it away from finding the net.
The Spartans had the first chance at the winner in overtime, when Stephan took a shot headed for the net, but Dennis was able to get a hand on it and deflect it away. As the game looked like it was headed for a second overtime, Schnurr took a pass from Frankie Tagliaferri and was able to find the net, giving Penn State the 2-1 victory.
"We have a young, resilient group, and we played better offensively tonight than we have recently," Saxton said. "This was a good Penn State team, credit to them, and they deserved to win with the performance in overtime.We're improving and we will continue to do that. We need to get ready for a strong Ohio State team coming in here on Sunday."
Up Next: The Spartans return to DeMartin Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff Sunday afternoon against Ohio State. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus.
Redshirt-junior defender Michaela Kovacs put away her second goal of the season in the loss for the Spartans (5-5-3, 0-4-2 Big Ten). Penn State improved to 8-5-0 and 4-2-0 in conference play with the win.
"I thought our effort was great, and we played well defensively against a potent offensive attack in Penn State," MSU head coach Tom Saxton said. "Our emphasis in training this week was offense, and I thought we had great flow to the goal. We had a couple near misses tonight. We've seen this before, but we're making progress."
It was the third straight one-goal loss in Big Ten play for the hard luck Spartans, who keep coming close, but haven't been able to come out on top.
How It Happened: MSU played its most aggressive offensive soccer in weeks, creating opportunities in the scoring third. After a flurry of shots just before the 10-minute mark, the Spartans were the first to break through in the 20th minute.
Sophomore Danielle Stephan took one of her signature bending corner kicks, sending a ball into the box that Kovacs was able to get a head on, and sneak past Nittany Lions keeper Amanda Dennis for a 1-0 Spartan lead.
PSU would find its equalizer in the 36th minute, when Kristin Schnurr took a pass into box from Emily Ogle, and finished far post, past a diving Reilley Ott in goal to make it 1-1.
The two teams traded chances for the go-ahead goal throughout the second half. In the 78th minute, freshman defender Samantha White made the defensive play of the season to this point. A Penn State corner kick was sent into the box, and redirected to goal by PSU's Kerry Abello, but White was able to get a foot on it, and deflect it away from finding the net.
The Spartans had the first chance at the winner in overtime, when Stephan took a shot headed for the net, but Dennis was able to get a hand on it and deflect it away. As the game looked like it was headed for a second overtime, Schnurr took a pass from Frankie Tagliaferri and was able to find the net, giving Penn State the 2-1 victory.
"We have a young, resilient group, and we played better offensively tonight than we have recently," Saxton said. "This was a good Penn State team, credit to them, and they deserved to win with the performance in overtime.We're improving and we will continue to do that. We need to get ready for a strong Ohio State team coming in here on Sunday."
Up Next: The Spartans return to DeMartin Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff Sunday afternoon against Ohio State. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus.
Team Stats
PSU
MSU
Goals
2
1
Shots
23
9
Shots on Goal
12
3
Saves
2
10
Corners
11
3
Fouls
6
11
Scoring Plays

Michaela Kovacs (2)
Assisted By: Danielle Stephan
header off corner kick
19:51

Kristin Schnurr (5)
Assisted By: Emily Ogle , Maddie Nolf
pass into box, finish far post
35:41

Kristin Schnurr (6)
Assisted By: Frankie Tagliaferri , Emily Ogle
took pass over top, beat keeper 1v1
97:59
Game Leaders
Players
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