Off the crossbar - that's as close as anybody came.

Four minutes into the 10-minute sudden-death overtime, freshman Danelle Underwood stole the ball in Michigan State territory, feeding it down the line to junior Judy Coffman, who sent it flying. Sophomore Melissa Dobbyn headed the cross from the top of the box over a leaping Michigan State goalie Nicole Galas, but the header just missed, rebounding back off the crossbar.

And the score remained 0-0.

It didn't change after two sudden-death overtimes in Friday night's matchup between the women's soccer teams from Michigan (3-6-1 Big Ten, 7-8-3 overall) and Michigan State (6-2-2, 10-4-5).

"A tie is disappointing," Michigan goalie Megan Tuura said. "But it gives us even more motivation to do what we can against Penn State and go out with a win because we definitely have to do it. There's no other choice."

The fight for the Challenge Cup (a multi-sport competition between the two schools) on senior night at the U-M Soccer Field was a defensive struggle from the beginning.

"Both teams fought really hard," Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher said. "It was ugly at times but exciting at other times. It was a defensive stalemate."

The Spartans managed just three shots the entire game - one in each half and one in the second overtime - compared to the Wolverines' eight.

Michigan dominated the first half, notching six shots and keeping Michigan State shotless for over 25 minutes.

"I think, as a whole, our defense played well, it's hard to single out one person," Rademacher said. "Our defensive effort was great."

The Wolverines capped the first half with a bang.

With seconds on the clock, Dobbyn rocketed a shot from the left side, but Galas made a diving save to her right, just barely keeping the ball out of the net.

The Spartans came out strong in the second half, keeping Michigan to just one shot. But neither team could get any offense going. With less than a minute to play, Michigan State midfielder Lauren Astray headed the ball off a corner kick. But Tuura came up with the brilliant save and secured the shutout for the first 90 minutes.

After Dobbyn's header off the crossbar at the start of the first overtime, neither team came close until Dobbyn sent a shot sailing high over the crossbar. The Wolverines kept the Spartans shotless but ended the first overtime still looking for the elusive game-winning goal.

The goal never came and the game ended after 110 minutes in a 0-0 tie.

The shutout marked the first on the season for Tuura and the Wolverines, and it couldn't have come at a better time. It was the last game of the regular season and just a week before the Big Ten Tournament. Plus, the tie allowed Michigan to keep the Challenge Cup.

"I think we all stepped it up today," junior captain Katelin Spencer said. "I think we knew what we needed to do being where we are ranked in the Big Ten. We knew we had to play well, and we did. We're obviously seeded lower than we'd like to be going into the tournament, but I couldn't ask for better effort from every single player on the field today."

No. 8 Michigan expects to play No. 1 Penn State Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, which runs Nov. 3-6 at U-M soccer field.