Huskies Fall at St. Cloud State 1-0 Sunday

• Box Score

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Michigan Tech soccer team fell on the road at St. Cloud State University 1-0 in a non-conference match Sunday afternoon to wrap up the opening weekend of the 2017 season. A goal in the 24^th by St. Cloud State proved to be the only scoring in the match.

"Our team played hard and gave a great effort this afternoon against a very good St. Cloud State team", Michigan Tech Head Coach Michelle Jacob said. "We struggled this afternoon though possessing and passing the ball in the midfield which limited our scoring opportunities. I thought we did a better job playing the ball forward in the second half, but we couldn't break through for a scoring chance. We'll regroup this week and get ready for our home opener on Friday against Bemidji State."

St. Cloud State (2-0-0) controlled the pace and flow of the game offensively in the first half, out-shooting Michigan Tech (1-1-0) 8-0 in the first 45 minutes. Tech goalie Kirsen Hudak made a couple of solid saves in the first 20 minutes to keep it a scoreless contest.

Unfortunately, the St. Cloud State pressure eventually broke down the Huskies' defense and a foul by Tech in the box setup a penalty kick opportunity for St. Cloud State. Kylie Cleary was able to capitalize for SCSU with the penalty kick goal in the 24^th minute which eventually turned into the game winning kick.

The Tech defense stood strong and kept the team within striking distance for the remainder of the afternoon. The Huskies were able to generate a forward attack in the opening moments of the second period when sophomore Claire Dagesse powered a shot towards the net that was blocked in the 56^th minute. In the 74^th minute, senior Taylor Archibald had a strike that just sailed high and with time winding down freshman Emily Zeitunian made a bid for her first collegiate goal, but it was deflected away from the net on a good save by SCSU goalie Kelsey Christian.

Dagesse, Archibald, and Zeitunian paced the Huskies offense with a shot apiece Sunday afternoon. The Huskies had the edge in corner kicks 5-3 while Hudak and Amanda Young split time in front of the net, combining for six saves. Hudak and Young each had three saves to their credit in the contest.

Maria Kass guided the SCSU offense with four total shots followed by Hannah Marion with three shots, including two on goal. Cleary took two shots, including the penalty kick which led to the only goal. SCSU had a total shot advantage of 12-3 while Christian made one save on her way to the win in net.

The Huskies will look to bounce back on Friday night when they host Bemidji State in the home opener at Sherman Field at 5 p.m. Tech will then battle Minnesota Duluth Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. The Huskies will also be hosting the "Kick with Kids" Free Soccer Clinic on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. and then at Sunday's match there will be a "Kick with Kids' poster signing.

Live video and stats for both matches will be available by clicking here.