Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan Play to a 0-0 Draw Play Video
Posted: Oct 28, 2016

Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan Play to a 0-0 Draw

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team closed the regular season on Friday night with a 0-0 double overtime draw against Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Northern Michigan on Senior Night at Sherman Field. The Huskies locked down the No. 3 seed in the upcoming GLIAC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game against the No. 6 seed Ferris State Tuesday afternoon in Houghton.

"It was a great match and I thought both teams battled really hard," Michigan Tech Head Coach Michelle Jacob said. "I thought we dominated a lot of the game and created a lot of shots, but unfortunately couldn't finish them. Both teams really worked hard and with it being senior day, they battled out there. I give a lot of credit to Northern Michigan for putting so much into this game today."

The 2016 senior class of Megan Armstrong, Kat Farkas, Maddie Faust, Katie Fife, Jaci Mielke, Emily Morin, Jessica Splittgerber, and Rebecca Stoffel were honored prior to Friday's contest. In four seasons, they have amassed 44 wins and been to the NCAA Regional tournament twice, going back to back years in 2013 and 2014.

Both teams took some time to get the offenses moving, but it was Michigan Tech (10-3-3, 6-2-3 GLIAC) that got the first cracks at the net Friday night. Junior Taylor Archibald challenged the Northern Michigan (4-9-4, 3-4-4 GLIAC) defense with a blast that went just wide right. Senior Kat Farkas then forced goalie Alexandra Simmons to make her first save of the night with a strike in the 15th minute.

Over the next few minutes, Tech had some additional chances that went wide or were blocked by the Wildcat defense. Junior goalie Kirsen Hudak made her first save of the contest in the 23rd minute when she stepped in front of a Maddie Herbert blast to keep it a scoreless game. Hudak then notched her second save of the game late in the first period as Carmen Villarruel's kick was turned aside.

Northern Michigan kept Hudak on her toes with two shots on goal to begin the second half, but the Huskies were able to turn the tide a bit offensively midway through the second. Sophomore Rachel Wall attacked the net with a shot on goal in the 73rd minute followed by a header from senior Jaci Mielke that was saved by Simmons. In the 87th minute, senior Rebecca Stoffel nearly put the Huskies in front, but another save kept the score at 0-0.

One of Tech's best chances to win the match came in the first overtime on a free kick by senior Jessica Splittgerber in the 96th minute. Her shot from about 25 yards out nearly cleared the bottom of the crossbar if not for a leaping save by Simmons. Sophomore Marisa DeMario had a shot on goal early in the second overtime frame and Mielke fired a shot wide for the only two scoring chances in the second overtime.

Mielke had a team high six shots to pace the Michigan Tech offense with five other players contributing two shots each. The Huskies outshot Northern Michigan 22-12 with six of them being on goal. Corner kicks were in Tech's favor as well 6-1. Hudak played all 110:00 minutes in net and made seven saves to get her ninth shutout of the season.

Paula Hafner took three shots for the Wildcats to guide their offense on Friday night. Simmons played all but 47 seconds in front of the net and made six saves.

The Huskies will face Ferris State for the second time this season at Sherman Field in the GLIAC Quarterfinals Tuesday. Tech won the first meeting of the season 1-0 on an unassisted Mielke goal in the first half.

"We'll take tomorrow off and practice later on Sunday to give some time for the girls to spend with their families to regroup and enjoy the weekend so we can come back on Sunday and focus on the next game," Jacob added.

Tuesday's kickoff at Sherman Field is scheduled for 2 p.m.