After almost 94 minutes of most evenly played game the Michigan women’s soccer team has battled this season, the whistle blew.
Then everything stopped — and everyone forgot about the ball.
When the ball bounced into the Minnesota net past a throng of confused players, the referee signaled a goal. And on that bizarre note, the Wolverines escaped with a 2-1 overtime victory in their Big Ten opener at U-M Soccer Stadium.
Freshman defender Taylor Timko lined up a free kick from about 30 yards out on the right side. With no wall in front of her, she lofted a service toward the back post, where she expected sophomore forward Madisson Lewis and junior defender Christina Ordonez to run onto it.
But the whistle blew, and everyone froze, including the goalkeeper. The ball went in, the crowd erupted and the referee signaled that Michigan had won.
Minnesota coach Stefanie Golan ran toward the referee, begging for an explanation. The Wolverines celebrated, while the Golden Gophers stood still, dejected.
Michigan coach Greg Ryan said a brief word to the referee and was told the game was over. That was all he needed to hear.
“He just said ‘Game over,’ ” Ryan said. “I’m like, ‘OK, I’m going home.’ ”
Ryan said he didn’t get an explanation in their brief exchange. Golan was unavailable after the game.
“The only time you blow your whistle to restart a free kick is if you’ve moved everybody back for 10 yards, and then you blow it to restart play,” Ryan said. “What I’m told is he blew the whistle before she kicked the ball. If he did, then that ball is live. If he didn’t, then we caught a break.”
As for Timko, she heard her teammates tell her to go. So she went, and scored her first career goal at the perfect time.
The U-M Soccer Stadium has been kind to the Michigan women’s soccer team this season: On the brand-new pitch, the Wolverines have gone 4-0, scored 11 goals and conceded none.
That appeared to hold Friday when Michigan took an early 1-0 lead over Minnesota and held it until the 74th minute.
The Golden Gophers found the equalizer shortly after as they passed the ball around in the box, finally finding the back of the net. Then the small Minnesota contingent started a chant in their section of the stands. And then home didn’t feel so sweet anymore.
After that, the evenly matched teams appeared headed for a draw.
But the Wolverines recovered well, a stark contrast to their blowout losses in San Diego last month.
“We would huddle after every goal and talk about it, but it was just getting more and more overwhelming,” said junior midfielder Corinne Harris. “This time, we know we don’t need to talk about it. We know what we need to do. We need to just keep fighting, and that’s what we were able to do today.”
But it could have been worse for Michigan if not for the play of Michigan freshman goalie Megan Hinz.
Hinz and sophomore goalie Taylor Bucklin split time in the Wolverines’ first two weekends of the season, but Hinz seized control last weekend. The freshman started both games, both shutout routs of Toledo and Central Michigan.
Not 10 minutes into Friday’s game, Hinz deflected a shot just wide of the net. She caught a long shot on goal in the 24th minute, then another in the 90th to preserve the tie game.
The Wolverines might not be as lucky Sunday when they take on No. 9 Wisconsin. But for now, Michigan ended a wild evening in victory.
“This game could have easily turned out a draw,” Ryan said. “Based on the stats and the chances, you’d say maybe a draw is a fair result. But this is a game of breaks. I’ve lost a lot of games on bad luck, so it’s nice to win one on a bit of luck.”