Tech Soccer Wins Third Straight; Handles Purdue Northwest 2-0
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team rounded out the four-game homestand with a 2-0 victory against Purdue Northwest on Sunday afternoon at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. The win marks the third straight as the Huskies move to 6-6-3 overall with a standing of 4-4-3 in the GLIAC, while the pride fall to 0-14-1 with a conference record of 0-11-0.
"We got our sweep this weekend and were scoring multiple goals in every match now," head coach Bulut Ozturk said. "I'm extremely proud of my team and we're in the mix for a third-place finish in the GLIAC, it's very rewarding and I'm very happy for them."
Right now we have everyone stepping in and stepping up and we don't have to rely on just one person, in the last three games we've had six goals and on the flip side we got our 8th shutout and I hope that can continue in our last three overall matches this is when we need to be playing our very best."
Michigan Tech would get the first few shots off to open the day, with three shots fired in the first 18 minutes, although none landed on target.
The first shot on goal for the Huskies would also be the first goal, coming from forward Julia Pietila in the 20th minute. Pietila found a loose ball 15 yards in front of the net after the Pride failed to clear a cross from Alicia Shatrau, Purdue Northwest's goalkeeper got a hand on the low shot but it slipped through her mitts to give Michigan Tech a 1-0 lead.
Following the Tech goal, the Pride got an offensive chance minutes later, however, senior goalkeeper Gracie VanLangevelde had no issues collecting the shot.
Both teams would land a shot on target before the conclusion of the first half, with Lauryn Tillmon putting a shot on goal for the Pride, while senior Haley Ruiter placing one on the net for the Huskies just before the half.
Returning from the break, the PNW spent a good deal of the opening minutes in the offensive zone, with the Huskies having a hard time clearing the ball.
That momentum shifted after about 10 minutes of play as the Huskies began to make way offensively with shots from Neve Badalow and Ella Roach coming a minute apart. Badalow's shot did not reach the goalkeeper, while Roach's shot was saved in the bottom left corner of the net by Ashley Lovins.
The Huskies struck again off a freekick from the left side of the Prides' goal when Cassie Bonifas placed a freekick ball in front of the net, Alyvia Sanom reached up for a header with the attempt hitting the left post where Stephanie Yeager headed it into the net in the 62nd minute.
MTU placed two more shots on goal following the tally by Sanom, with a shot by Pietila making contact with the keeper in the 70th minute and Mia Van der Heide putting a ball toward the bottom right side of the net saved by the Pride's keeper.
The win marked the eighth shutout of the season for VanLangevelde and the Huskies backline, along with the third consecutive win for Michigan Tech.
Pietila finished with two shots on goal to lead the team. As a whole, the Huskies had 14 shots, with six landing on target. The Black & Gold also held an advantage with five corner kicks to the Pride's one.
The Huskies take to the road for the final away weekend of the regular season facing Ferris State at 1 p.m. on Friday and Saginaw Valley State on Sunday slated for a 1 p.m. start time.
