A stalemate — again.

Nearly 1,700 people gathered yesterday in DeMartin Stadium to view two and a half hours of defensive perfection from two women's soccer programs. The Michigan team (5-6-1) left East Lansing with only a 0-0 tie for the second year in a row.

Redshirt freshman goalie Haley Kopmeyer netted her third shutout of the season with seven saves and held No. 20 Michigan State to just its second scoreless game of the season.

“Defensively, we tried to play aggressively,” Kopmeyer said. “We played better than we typically do. It's really exciting. Our defense is going to grow, and we're going to get better. In years to come, hopefully we will be one of the best defensive units.”

The Spartan duo of Lauren Hill and Laura Heyboer were expected to threaten the young Michigan defense, but the fast-paced pair was blanked after taking five shots on goal.

“This week at practice, we really focused on double teaming them,” junior forward Amanda Bowery said. “We figured that we can’t give them any space.”

Michigan used a double-team tactic to impede the Spartans' potent offense, which is the second-highest scoring in the Big Ten.

Michigan's offense just couldn't capitalize on the Spartans' mistakes. Overall, Michigan took just five shots and came short of a goal every time. The Wolverines rank last in the Big Ten for attempted shots on goal. The game advanced into double overtime, but neither team could come away with the game winner.

“The Michigan State defense does not defend hard,” Michigan coach Greg Ryan said. “They played a soft zone and gave us a lot of time to make decisions and organize our attack. We just didn’t have the players who wanted to score.”

Ryan remains unbeaten against intra-state foes, and the home team has not lost in the rivalry since 1999. To improve, the Wolverines will have to make better and more efficient decisions on offense,while continuing to play aggressive defense.

“We have a very young defense,” Ryan said. “With a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, it is a new defense in terms of playing together. Assistant coach Lene Terp has done a great job in organizing them. I have a lot of confidence in her. But a pitcher can’t win a game in baseball by just throwing a shutout. The offense needs to score points.”