UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Senior midfielder Marissa Sheva scored a goal and saved a Michigan goal all within the final 1:52 of regulation as the No. 16 Penn State women's soccer team defeated the Michigan Wolverines, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State (14-5-0), the No. 1 seed in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament, needed all 90 minutes of regulation, but was able to hold off eighth-seeded Michigan (9-9-1) in the quarterfinal round. With the win, Penn State moves on to face No. 5 seed Illinois (11-7-1) on Friday, Nov. 2. The match will take place at 11 a.m. at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana, live on the Big Ten Network.
"Good win today over a very talented and gritty Michigan team that certainly deserves to continue their season, but I thought the group really battled today," head coach Erica Dambach said. "That team is as talented as we have seen all season long and I'm really proud of the shutout."
A back-and-forth matchup all afternoon, the two teams combined for 11 saves, including a team save from Sheva with one second remaining in regulation. For Michigan, Hillary Beall recorded three saves, while Amanda Dennis tied a career-high seven saves.
In the 16th minute of play, on its third straight corner kick, Michigan fired a pair of shots on goal within six seconds, but Dennis was there to make both saves.
The Nittany Lions then recorded a pair of shots on goal of their own in the 36th minute and 39th minute, respectively, but Beall corralled both shot attempts.
The two teams went into halftime tied at 0-0 with Penn State outshooting Michigan, 8-4.
Looking to break the 0-0 tie in the 51st minute, freshman Kim Dubs placed a shot on goal, but Beall was there with a diving save to keep Penn State off the scoreboard.
Following Beall's key save, Dennis made three big saves of her own in the 53rd minute. After a Sarah Stratigakis shot attempt hit the crossbar, Dennis recorded saves on Nicki Hernandez, Reilly Martin and Katie Foug all within 30 seconds of each other to keep the score tied at 0-0.
Dennis' number would be called once again in the 75th minute, as she made back-to-back saves on Stratigakis and Martin to keep things level.
With the match still tied at 0-0 with less than two minutes to go regulation, it was time for some late-game dramatics.
After Alina Ortega Jurado played the ball to Ellie Jean on the left side of the field, Jean crossed the ball to Sheva in the box. Sheva then one-timed the ball past Beall and into the upper-left corner of the net for her second goal of the season with 1:52 left in regulation.
The Nittany Lions were not out of the woods yet, as Michigan had a chance late in the match to tie things up at 1-1.
With just six seconds left in regulation, Michigan set up for a corner kick.
On the corner kick, Martin placed the ball into the box and to the feet of Foug. She then placed a shot on goal, but Sheva, in front of the goal line, stepped up and blocked the shot attempt with one second left in regulation. The Nittany Lions were then able to clear the ball out of danger as time expired.
NOTES: Penn State leads the all-time series against Michigan, 23-4-7…Penn State outshot Michigan 17-12…Emily Ogle played in her 94th career match…Penn State has won eight straight matches…Penn State recorded its 10th shutout of the season and its 56th since the start of the 2014 season…The Nittany Lions improve to 7-5 in one-goal games this season…Penn State is now 32-11-5 all-time in Big Ten Tournament matches...Penn State is now 107-3-5 when scoring first since the start of 2012 season.