Huskies Stopped at Davenport (Mich.)

• Box Score

CALEDONIA, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team had its two match winning streak come to an end Friday afternoon 2-1 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at Davenport University. The Huskies jumped in front 1-0 in the first half, but the Panthers answered with two of their own in the second period to get the win.

"Our team played hard today, but we came up short," Michigan Tech Head Coach Michelle Jacob said. "We had a few missed passes and there were times when we didn't close down on a player quick enough and it cost us. We'll look to rest up tomorrow and regroup on Sunday at Purdue Northwest."

Davenport (5-2, 1-0 GLIAC) went on the attack early and forced senior goalie Kirsen Hudak to make three saves in the first 14 minutes of the contest. Two of the attempts were off the foot of Zayan Madeleine who would eventually get the second goal of the afternoon for the Panthers in the second half.

Following a save by Hudak on a strike from Roheema Bennett, Michigan Tech (3-4, 0-1 GLIAC) put together a strong counter attack to grab the early advantage. Sophomore Jamie Brisson unloaded a shot that went just wide right in the 15^th minute, but freshman Emily Zeitunian would find the mark just over two minutes later.

Zeitunian positioned herself about 13 yards away from the net while freshman Jesse Jacobusse worked the ball down the left side of the field. Jacobusse sent a precision crossing pass into the box from the wing where Zeitunian was waiting to fire the ball towards the net. Zeitunian tucked the ball into the low left corner of the net for her first collegiate goal and a 1-0 Tech lead. Jacobusse was credited with her first career assist on the play.

The Huskies' defense faced relentless pressure for the remainder of the first half, but held strong to keep Davenport off the board. Hudak made three more saves to finish the opening 45 minutes with six.

The Huskies maintained the 1-0 edge through the early moments of the second half and made a bid to extend the lead by a goal. In the 59^th minute, senior Taylor Archibald had a shot go just wide right of the net. However, about nine minutes later the Panthers would level the score at 1-1.

Allison Luurtsema eventually broke through the Tech defense to tie the contest in the 68^th minute with her second goal of the season. Imanie Richards and Alex Prout were each given assists on the play after Richards redirected a pass from Prout to Luurtesma who found the back of the net.

Jacobusse nearly gave the lead back to the Huskies in the 79^th minute, but Lorrin McCarty was there to make the save. The Panthers then logged the game winning kick in the 82^nd minute courtesy of a strike by Zayan. It was her fourth goal of the year and Alayna Hilgendorf was there to provide the assist.

The Huskies wouldn't go quietly with Archibald and Zeitunian both registering shots on goal in the final moments of the match. Hudak also made some saves to keep the Huskies in contention until the end.

Zeitunian led the Tech offense with three shots, including one that found the back of the net. Her goal give gives her four points this season, tying her with freshman Brooke Schauer for the team lead in points. Jacobusse had one shot and the assist in Friday's match. Hudak played all 90 minutes in front of the net and had a season high 11 saves.

Zayan had a match high six shots for the Panthers and one of the two goals. Luurtesma tacked on three shots and one goal. As a team, Davenport have the advantage in total shots 23-8 and corner kicks 7-1. McCarty logged all 90 minutes in net and made three saves on the afternoon.

The Huskies will look to bounce back on Sunday morning when they travel to Purdue Northwest for another GLIAC contest. The match time has been moved up to 10 a.m. EDT due to high heat levels in the weather forecast for Sunday.

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