Nov. 5, 2005

Final Stats

IOWA CITY, Iowa - After a heated semifinal battle with top-seeded Penn State, defending Big Ten Tournament champion Michigan finds itself in familiar territory. The Wolverines dominated the first half, pulling away to a two-goal lead that the Nittany Lions couldn't overcome. The Wolverines won 2-1 for their seventh trip to the tournament's championship game in the past eight seasons.

Despite a deadlocked game that saw no shots in its first five minutes, the Wolverines' offense got its first taste of scoring opportunity and commanded the first half. The Wolverines made the most of their first penalty corner. With 16 minutes off the clock, Kara Lentz pounded a shot to the upper left corner of the net, past a diving Penn State goalie, Megan Akstin. Lori Hillman tallied an assist on the goal that gave Michigan an early 1-0 lead. Lentz counted her fourth goal of the season and second of the tournament, after scoring the Wolverines' winning goal on a penalty stroke against Iowa in the first round.

A little more than five minutes later, Michigan capitalized on its second corner situation. Sophomore Kristen Tiner netted a direct corner shot from the top of the striking circle. Tiner's fourth goal of the season gave the Wolverines a 2-0 lead before the break.

The Nittany Lions opened the second half hungry to get on the scoreboard. Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Natalie Berrena, broke away from the pack and charged toward the goal when Michigan goalkeeper Beth Riley blocked her path and the two tumbled at the top of the striking circle. Berrena shook off the fall, but the Lions couldn't convert their next shot and corner opportunities.

Riley entered the tournament leading the conference with 106 saves while her four shutouts ranked second. The Wolverines' all-time wins leader, Riley came up with three crucial second-half saves to stave off the Lions' threat. Five minutes into the second stanza, Kiersten Wood took a shot off a pass from another penalty corner that nearly put the Lions on the board when Riley made another diving stop.

With less than two minutes to play, Penn State's Shaun Banta dashed from the top of the striking circle through a swarm of Michigan defenders. Riley came out to block Banta's shot, and the goal was wide open. Banta ripped a shot to the upper left corner of the goal for her 16th score of the season, putting the Lions within one.

The Lions' attack ran out of time, and the Wolverines held on for the win, despite being out shot 12-6.

Neither team even got off attempted a shot until more 5:25 ran off the clock. Banta stripped Michigan defenders of the ball and drove a baseline pass to Bekah Hostetler who was waiting in perfect position right in front of the goal. Wolverine defenders collapsed on Hostetler and her shot sailed wide.

Michigan took its first scoring attempt when Sarah Wilhite lined up a shot that nearly crossed the goal line, but Penn State's Carey Maser made a score-saving defensive save to keep the scoreboard blank.

The Wolverines faced the fifth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday in a rematch of last year's title game. The Wolverines, ranked 10th in the country, earned their third tournament crown in 2004 with a 3-2 win against the Hawkeyes. They topped Iowa with the same score in the teams' first-round meeting this year to advance to the semifinal clash with Penn State.

In Sunday's championship final, Michigan will face the winner of the second semifinal contest between No. 2 Indiana and No. 3 Ohio State at 1 p.m.