Pair of Second Half Goals Propel Tech Past Winona State

• Box Score

WINONA, Minn. – The Michigan Tech soccer team recorded two unanswered goals in the second half to rally for a 2-1 non-conference victory at Winona State University Sunday afternoon. The Warriors took a 1-0 edge in the 12^th minute, but the Huskies kept battling and tied the game in the 71^st minute followed by the game winning kick in the 82^nd minute.

"It was an excellent game today from our players," Michigan Tech Head Coach Michelle Jacob said. "All in all we played a good game and created several solid chances for our team. We had a great goal from Stephanie [Yeager] off a corner kick to tie it up and then Grace [Shaw] showed incredible composure to secure the second goal. The ladies managed the game well the last 10 minutes to bring home the win for us."

Winona State (1-1) went on the attack offensively early with a pair of shots in the first eight minutes. The Warriors broke through for what would be their only goal of the afternoon a few short minutes later. Courtney Wiencek got behind the Michigan Tech (2-1-1) defense and found herself in a one on one breakaway towards the net. Her shot crossed the goal line for the first score of the afternoon.

Tech's defense then buckled down and the offense began to apply some pressure on the Winona State defense. Hannah Loughlin unloaded a blast that went just wide in the 15^th minute and a header shot from Jesse Jacobusse had to be turned away by Jourdan Valkner in the 27^th minute.

The Huskies withstood an initial charge by the Warriors at the outset of the second half thanks to a couple of solid saves by goalie Amanda Young in the 52^nd and 53^rd minutes. Young then added to her saves total with another deflection on a strike by Wiencek in the 57^th minute. Young would go on to make 10 saves in the match on her way to win number two of the season.

Michigan Tech created the game tying scoring chance in the 71^st, producing a corner kick in the offensive zone. Anna Gulan lined up the ball in the corner, lobbing it into the box where it got deflected onto to the foot of Stephanie Yeager. Yeager fired a quick shot in front of the net past the keeper to tie the match at 1-1.

Suddenly with momentum on their side, the Huskies continued to press their attack forward. Kassity Swanson made a bid to give Tech the advantage in the 74^th minute when Valkner just got her hands on it to keep the Huskies off the board. Alexis Shatrau then had a couple of chances in the 77^th and 78^th minutes, missing just high of the net and then having a shot on goal stopped by Valkner.

In the 82^nd minute, Tech's attack paid off again when Grace Shaw found some space to take what would be the game winning shot. Shaw delivered the ball into the top right corner of the net past the outstretched hands of the goalie Valkner for a 2-1 lead. It was Shaw's second goal of the 2018 campaign, with both being games winners for the Huskies.

The Warriors wouldn't go quietly though, forcing Young to make four saves in the next three minutes as they aggressively moved the ball forward. Tech's defense was then able to clear the ball out of danger and kept Winona State from attempting another shot in the final six minutes to secure the win.

Marisa DeMario, Loughlin, and Shatrau each had a team high three shots for the Huskies Sunday afternoon. Yeager and Shaw each had two attempts with both players combining for the two goals. Tech had a slight edge in corner kicks 5-4 while Young matched a career high with 10 saves in 90 minutes of work in front of the net.

Wiencek took a match high six shots and had the lone goal for the Warriors. Four of her six shots were saved by Young. Winona State had a small advantage in total shots at 17-15. Valkner played all 90 minutes in goal for the Warriors and made five saves.

The Huskies will be back on the field Friday in a non-conference match at Parkside. The kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. eastern time.