According to Minnesota soccer coach Mikki Denney Wright, the better team did not win Sunday.
The Gophers (8-5-2, 5-2-0 Big Ten) lost to Ohio State 1-0 in double overtime at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in St. Paul. The winning goal was scored with 31 seconds to play in the second overtime.
“We’re a better team than Ohio State – no question,” Denney Wright said. “I’ll face them again any day.”
Freshman Lisa Collison, who is second in the Big Ten in goals and points, scored the winning goal for the Buckeyes inside the penalty area after receiving the ball off a throw-in.
“We definitely should have won,” senior defender Nicki Burnie said. “We played hard, we just had a mental lapse in the last 30 seconds Ö We outplayed them.”
Minnesota, always a physical team, met its match Sunday with the more physical Buckeyes
In a closely called game, each team was issued three yellow cards and 53 total fouls were called.
“We were prepared – we knew we were going to have to battle from the get-go,” senior forward Kaitlin Neary said. “We knew it was going to be a physical fight out there. They’re always like that – that’s their style of soccer.”
Despite being outshot 24-12, the Gophers had better scoring chances than the Buckeyes did.
Midway through the first half, Lindsey Schwartz sent a pass through the Buckeyes defense to Becky Dellaria, whose shot was barely saved by the foot of Ohio State keeper Staci Sinkway.
Dellaria was denied again in the second half when her shot from inside the penalty area was saved by Courtney Cripps, who split time in goal with Sinkway for the Buckeyes.
Many of Ohio State’s shots were from far outside the goal, which Minnesota goalie Molly Schneider easily got to. Schneider finished with five saves.
The Gophers’ last nine games have all been decided by one goal, and they have played six total overtime games.
And although Denney Wright said she was disappointed to lose, she said the improvement she’s seen in the Gophers from three weeks ago is remarkable.
“We’re a good soccer team and we’re going to be in every single stinking game,” she said. “We’re so hard to score on.
“If we continue to play like that we’ll win a lot of games … We’re still 5-2 in the Big Ten and I feel great about that.”
