Spartans Defeated by No. 14 Penn State, 4-0
10/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - On Penn State's senior day, the Nittany Lions bested Michigan State women's soccer team, 4-0, on a Sunday afternoon match at Jeffrey Field. The Spartans fall to 5-10-0 overall and 1-7-0 in conference match-ups.
"We got a lot of young people into the game, which was great. We got a lot of good minutes for our young players which will hopefully be a good development for them in time," Michigan State head coach Tom Saxton said. "Overall, going on a tough road trip against two top 20 teams, our young team represented itself well. Obviously, it was a heartbreaker on Friday night against Ohio State and today, we just fell short against a talented offensive team."
Penn State claimed the first goal of the game in the 14th minute, when forward Megan Schafer managed to the beat the MSU defense and go one-on-one with redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Reilley Ott. Schafer crossed the ball to Ott's left, sending it to the back of the net to put the Nittany Lions on the board.
The Spartan defense was able to limit Penn State's chances, and Reilley Ott saved the remaining two shots on goal in the first half, including a leaping effort to deflect a shot high and out of play.
"I thought we came and out played a very good first half defensively against Penn State. We followed our game plan," Saxton said. "We were a bit unlucky on the goal we conceded, but I thought we were in great shape at halftime."
Michigan State's two shots on goal in the first half were sent sailing from outside the box by both senior defender Madison Duncan and senior forward Jamie Cheslik, but Penn State's keeper was there with the easy grab both times to keep the Spartans off the score sheet.
In the second half, Penn State scored added another three goals without a response from the Spartans. MSU added a shot off target, but the offense was unable to send a shot on net.
"We decided to stay in a defensive mindset and continue to go forward when we got chances. Even after going down 2-0, the third goal kind of broke us. Credit to Penn State; it was their senior day. They're a great team, a deadly offensive team obviously. After that, it is what it is."
Reilley Ott played 81 minutes in goal, making four stops. Redshirt senior Savanna Wojtanowski came in off the bench for nine minutes, adding two saves.
Up next, Michigan State returns to DeMartin Stadium for its rivalry match against Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. The match will be streamed on BTN Plus.
"It's rivalry week for us. We'll get back to work on Monday and be ready for next Saturday evening."
