Huskies Cruise to 6-0 Win Over Purdue Northwest Play Video

Huskies Cruise to 6-0 Win Over Purdue Northwest

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech soccer routed visiting Purdue Northwest in a 6-0 victory, the most goals in a single game in school history, on Friday in the first home game of the 2019 season. The big win improves the Huskies to 3-1-1 on the year, and Purdue Northwest falls to 1-4-1.

"I'm really proud of the team today. One of the things that we try to do is get out on the scoreboard early," said head coach Michelle Jacob. "We had a great performance. We played a lot of really smart soccer. We possessed well, we created so many great shooting opportunities, and I think one of the things we've been focusing on lately is finishing and today we were able to finish with six."

Sophomore Grace Shaw found the back of the net twice in the first half as she was one of five goalscorers for the Black and Gold. Shaw put Tech on the board in the 10th minute when she finished off a pass by sophomore Gabby Sgambati. Sgambati ran with the ball down the right flank, got behind the defense for a 1v1 with the goalkeeper and saw her shot saved. The winger picked up the rebound, sent it towards the middle for Shaw, and she buried her shot.

Shaw found the net for the second time in the 24th minute. The forward capitalized on a PNW giveaway in their own half for an open run on goal. She easily rounded the charging goalkeeper before calmly tapping the ball into the net for the goal.

"I had some extra space in the middle, and my team did a great job of finding me with through-balls," said Shaw, a returning All-GLIAC Second Team selection.

Freshman Keighley Blindauer scored the first goal of her Michigan Tech career in the 41st minute as the first half drew to a close after an excellent pass from Emily Zeitunian. The freshman received the pass and maneuvered her way past a Pride defender before finishing bottom right for the third goal of the half. The Huskies would go into halftime with a commanding 3-0 advantage, leading Purdue Northwest 13-2 in shots and 4-1 in corners.

Junior Mackenzie Scholz continued the scoring for Michigan Tech into the second half with an unassisted strike in the 50th minute to make it 4-0. Scholz found a loose ball in the Purdue Northwest half of the field and charged at the goal and the goalkeeper. Just before the two collided, Scholz slotted her shot past the keeper's legs for her first Michigan Tech goal.

Sophomore Hannah Loughlin would be next to put one in the net off a pass from sophomore Anna Gulan. Gulan had possession of the ball in the PNW box when, surrounded by defenders, she spotted Loughlin unmarked to her left. The midfielder received the pass and took a shot low and to the goalkeeper's left and she was rewarded with a goal.

The sixth and final goal came thanks to a header from Stephanie Yeager from a corner kick. In the 73rd minute, Tech won its second corner kick of the half. Brooke Schauer whipped in a cross five yards in front of the goal and it was headed into the top corner by Yeager for the tally.

The Huskies took 28 shots on the evening with 18 going on frame, compared to Purdue Northwest taking three total shots and two shots on goal. Senior Amanda Young got the clean sheet victory with two saves. Purdue Northwest's Leonie Heck saved 11 of the shots she faced in the defeat.

The Huskies will face Parkside next on Sunday (Sept. 29) at noon. The Rangers (4-3-0) are in the midst of a four-game winning streak and enter Sunday's contest after a 1-0 win over Northern Michigan. The Huskies were victorious in both matches against the Rangers last season, winning 1-0 at Parkside in September and winning 2-0 at home in October.

"I would expect Sunday to be a fast, physical game," Jacob said. "They've always been a tough opponent the times that we've played them, so we need to be sure we're ready to get after it."