EAST LANSING, Mich. - The USF women's soccer team will leave East Lansing with another competitive, hard-fought contest under their belts after working a 1-1 draw at Michigan State's DeMartin Stadium on Friday afternoon. Amanda Whittle tallied her second goal of the year as the Dons (4-1-2) led the Spartans for the majority of the match before a Michigan State goal in the 74th minute eventually forced the tie.

"It was a very physical match," said head coach Jim Millinder. "It was the most physical match we've played this season against the best opponent we've played so far. We might have been a little fatigued from the travel, but we had some chances in the first half, and [Jessica] Nakae hits the crossbar in overtime; it was just a great character check for us coming to play a great team like Michigan State on the road. At the end of the day it was a great effort and a fair result for two very evenly matched teams."  

Whittle gave the Dons an early lead when she connected for an unassisted score in the 11th minute where she gathered up a loose ball in the box and punched in a 15-yard strike to put USF ahead 1-0.

It stayed that way until Michigan State (3-1-2) tied things up at 1-1 when Erica Goodenough received a pass in the box that set her up for a goal placed into the far corner of the net.   

After a first half where USF outshot Michigan State 7-5, the Spartans returned the favor and ended up outshooting the Dons 15-7 over the second half and both overtime periods. However, USF keeper Madalyn Schiffel and the Dons defense didn't bow as Schiffel collected five saves on the day despite facing a ramped up Michigan State offense coming out of halftime.

The Dons had a chance from Sonja Giraud sail just wide in the final ticks of regulation, followed by Jessica Nakae's attempt that was blocked by the Spartan defense. Likewise, Schiffel made a huge save on a Michaela Kovacs shot right as the horn sounded to end regulation, forcing overtime.

The Spartans came out firing in the first overtime frame, delivering a pair of shots in the opening minutes, while Michigan State's Gabrielle Gauruder made a pair of saves in the early stages of overtime as USF ratcheted up the pressure in their own right with a shot from Nakae and a corner kick that helped setup Whittle for an attempt at the game winner, but Gauruder thwarted the chance and preserved the 1-1 score.

USF had a corner kick opportunity in the final seconds of the second overtime period hoping that Nakae could work some magic, but the attempt was denied and the contest ended with the Dons' second draw of the season.   

USF was looking for its first win over a Big Ten team since Oct. 30, 1998, when the Dons posted a 1-0 shutout over Indiana at home.

Altogether, Whittle led the Dons with five shots on the day, including four shots on goal, while Nakae fired off four shots, two of which were on frame, and Giraud had two shots, one on goal.  

The Dons forced Gauruder to make seven saves in the contest.

The Dons return to the pitch on Sunday when they travel to Rochester, Mich. to take on Oakland with kickoff slated for 9 a.m. Pacific time. That match will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com. Links to access the stream will be available on the women's soccer schedule page at USFDons.com.