Huskies Travel to Grand Valley State for GLIAC Quarterfinals
ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team kicks off the postseason on Tuesday when the team travels to Grand Valley State for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Quarterfinal match against the Lakers. The Huskies are the number eight seed in this year's tournament while GVSU owns the number one seed.
Michigan Tech (5-10-1) will battle the Lakers for the second time this season on Tuesday after playing them tough in a 2-0 loss in Houghton on October 20th. Grand Valley State earned the top-seed in the tournament after going unbeaten against conference opponents with a record of 9-0. The Lakers are 15-3 overall and ranked 3rd in NCAA Division II. The Huskies and Lakers will play each other in the GLIAC tournament for the second year in a row after the teams met in the 2016 title game.
Five players for Tech have two goals each this season with senior Sarah Boyd, junior Marisa DeMario, senior Taylor Archibald, freshman Brooke Schauer, and sophomore Katri Studtmann each finding the back of the net. Archibald remains as the top point scorer for the Huskies going into the post season with six so far in 2017. Freshman Emily Zeitunian has generated a team high three assists and has five total points.
Michigan Tech's defense has been a major strength for the team, allowing around a goal per game through the first 16 matches this year. The Huskies have had outstanding efforts in front of the net from both senior Kirsen Hudak and freshman Amanda Young.
Hudak comes in with 68 total saves in 14 matches played and leads the GLIAC in save percentage at 0.850. She ranks second in both fewest goals against (12) and lowest goals against average (0.95.) Junior Rachel Wall and Archibald along with multiple back line players have also helped keep opponents away from the box.
The Lakers are led by Gabriella Mencotti who owns a GLIAC best 21 goals with six assists and 48 points going into the postseason. Grand Valley State has scored 72 total goals and has three players with nine or more goals on the stat sheet. The Lakers defense has surrendered just 11 goals this year and are guided by their senior goalie Jennifer Steinaway who has 15 wins and 42 saves on the year.
Tuesday's match gets underway at 3 p.m. and fans can follow the action through live video and stats by clicking here. The official GLIAC tournament page can be viewed here.