Defense defines Michigan 6-0 loss to Penn State

In the 71st minute on Thursday, Penn State center back Mieke Schiemann stepped into the box, centered herself and buried a penalty kick into the bottom left corner of goal, punctuating a dominant victory for the Nittany Lions. The same defender who had shut down the Michigan women’s soccer team’s offense scored the final goal of the competition — the nail in the coffin of the Wolverines’ demise.   

Coming off its first win of the season, Michigan (1-6-1) traveled to State College for its initial taste of Big Ten competition against No. 12 Penn State (7-1-1). The opening minutes looked to be a repeat of Sep. 8, with the Wolverines holding their own on the pitch. But after the Nittany Lions opened up scoring in the 12th minute, Michigan quickly deteriorated. Unable to find control in either box, the Wolverines succumbed in a striking 6-0 defeat. 

“Definitely a disappointment in terms of the result this evening,” Michigan coach Jen Klein said. “I thought the first 20 minutes of the game we came out and really executed very cleanly. … We just need to be better inside the boxes, our final third and our defensive third.”

Finishing in the final third has been a consistent frustration for the Wolverines’ offense. While the unit typically maintains a majority of possession and generates numerous scoring opportunities, this hasn’t translated to dominant wins for Michigan. And against Penn State, the trend continued. 

The Wolverines’ midfield demonstrated an aggressive press, which led to the ball staying in Nittany Lions’ territory for the better part of the matchup. Utilizing the wing expertly, Michigan found most of its success through simple play, working its way down the sideline and capitalizing off of errant Penn State passes. Sophomore midfielder Lily Bosley championed this game plan, often forcing turnovers and regaining possession for the Wolverines. Bosley’s quick-fire reactions frequently caught the Nittany Lions off guard, causing them to make simple mistakes and setting up several set-piece opportunities for Michigan. 

But none of that matters if the end result isn’t a goal — and it never was on Thursday.

By the end of the first half, the Wolverines had 11 shots and four corner kicks, none of which proved a real challenge to Penn State’s defense. Michigan’s shots all came from outside of the box, and those attempts were forced largely due to the impenetrable wall that the Nittany Lions’ backline created.

On Thursday, the Wolverines’ offense fell right into Penn State’s defensive trap as it was unable to create real one-on-one opportunities. Instead, more often than not, they sent a single attacker forward to combat the three defenders alone. In the 22nd minute, junior forward Kali Burrell had one such opportunity after receiving a perfectly on-target through pass. Burrell dribbled the ball down the left line cleanly, but as soon as she got into the box, the Nittany Lions’ defense shut her down, and Burrell forced a shot that was completely off target. 

“That’s where we were choosing to take shots,” Klein said. “I think we need to be a little bit more patient … I think we are settling for shots that maybe don’t have as high of a chance of scoring.”

While Penn State goalkeeper Amanda Poorbaugh sat in the goal calmly for a majority of the game, graduate goalkeeper Stephanie Sparkowski was working overtime for Michigan. The Nittany Lions may have held possession for less of the match than the Wolverines, but when they attacked they were dangerous, sending their forwards as a collective, which quickly overpowered Michigan’s defense and secured three goals in each half. 

While the scoreline suggests differently, Sparkowski wasn’t to blame on Thursday. She often extended her influence beyond the bounds of the box and took attackers head on. By sliding into strikers’ strides and physically taking the ball away from them, Sparkowski likely prevented the deficit from ballooning further. However, she couldn’t defend the goal on her own and her backline provided minimal help. 

“(Sparkowski) overall did a really good job,” Klein said. “I think in that way we rely too much on Steph to always make the big save, and we’ve got to do a better job of helping her out and making sure that she’s not always having to be the one to save us.”

In order to have success on the pitch you must control one of the boxes; either have an impenetrable defense or a scoring frenzy offense. Currently, Michigan has neither. 

On Thursday, Penn State knew exactly how to take advantage of the Wolverines’ lackluster play and delivered them their fourth shutout of the season.

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