Natalie Jacobs' hip toss of Michigan's Elizabeth Dosa isn't the standard method of defense in women's collegiate soccer, but even a vertical suplex may have flown in yesterday's match at Jeffrey Field.

The Penn State women's soccer team had to fight to maintain composure in its 2-0 win over Michigan. The Wolverines brought a hard-nosed physical aspect to the game beyond what the Nittany Lions have faced so far this season.

"I think the physical play disrupted our game a little bit," Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins said.

"We couldn't get the ball on the ground as much, so we had to battle with it in the air."

After the match, she said that the Wolverines came out with a good spirit to play hard. However, she didn't seem to appreciate their style, while her players were still out running on the field.

More times than any other home game this season.

Wilkins left her brown foldout chair to make clear her sentiments about the referees' quality in a JoePa-esque manner.

Her concern wasn't misguided, though, as several of her players endured hard fouls that could have resulted in injury.

At one point, leading goal scorer Tiffany Weimer took a shove in the back as she was in the air for a header. Weimer continued to play, but not after a few moments down on the ground to shake off the blow. In the end, the Lions escaped damage-free with no serious injuries.

The referee had his work cut out for him, too, calling 32 total fouls and issuing two yellow cards to the Lions. Senior forward Heidi Drummond drew the first for some extra activity after the whistle and Jacobs picked up her warning later, for the ongoing skirmish with Dosa.

Senior captain Joanna Lohman had to make sure that the Lions didn't lose their poise through the bruising play.

"I just told the team to keep calm and not get frustrated," Lohman said.

"It was hard because we were getting called for a lot of little things and I told them to just keep playing hard."

The Lions were unruffled, as they survived to pick up their third consecutive Big Ten victory.