Huskies Hold Off Saginaw Valley State for Key GLIAC Victory

• Box Score

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team notched a pair of goals early in the first half and held on for a 2-1 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at Saginaw Valley State University Friday afternoon. The Huskies move to 4-0 on the road this season with previous victories over Minnesota –Duluth, Bemidji State, and Northern Michigan away from Sherman Field.

"We came out on fire to start the game and the two quick goals gave us a lot of momentum," Michigan Tech Head Coach Michelle Jacob said. "I thought we did a good job of controlling the play of the game. We were attacking forward and forced them to play a lot of long balls to try and beat our defense. I'm really proud of the way our team played today and our defense was solid once again. It was a truly a team effort with a lot of people contributing to the victory."

Michigan Tech (7-2-1, 3-1-1 GLIAC) went right to work on offense Friday and moved in front on the very first shot of the match. Senior forward Jaci Mielke added her fourth goal of the season to the stat sheet to put the Huskies on top 1-0 in the third minute. Senior midfielder Jessica Splittgerber collected her second assist of the 2016 season when she crossed the ball through the defense to Mielke driving down the field. Mielke was just outside the six-yard box and slipped the ball past goalie Claire Spleth on the left. The quick goal set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

The Huskies tacked on what would prove to be a big insurance goal in the eighth minute courtesy of junior defender Taylor Archibald. Archibald received a pass from Mielke on a cross through the box and Archibald tucked the ball into the lower left corner of the net. It was her first goal of the season and second of her collegiate career. For Mielke, it was her fourth assist on the year which combined with the goal elevated her point total to 12 through the first 10 matches.

Saginaw Valley State (8-3-1, 2-2-1 GLIAC) would not go quietly on their home field and pulled to within a goal at 2-1 late in the first period. Molly Vanderhoff planted the ball into the right corner of the net in the 38^th minute for the Cardinals. It would be the only goal allowed by Tech goalie Kirsen Hudak, who made six first half saves to keep Saginaw Valley State at bay.

Meanwhile, both defenses settled into more of a rhythm in the second half and the halftime score of 2-1 remained unchanged through the final 45 minutes of play. Hudak faced a pair of shots on goal in the second period and turned both of them away. Ashley Henderson had her shot rejected in the 50^th minute and a blast by Molly Vanderhoff was stopped in the 67^th minute. The best scoring chances for the Huskies in the second period were shots on goal by Archibald and Katri Studtmann.

Mielke guided the offense with six total shots, including the first goal of the match, to go along with one assist. Archibald ended the day with two shots and the second goal of the contest for the Huskies. As a team, Michigan Tech held the edge in corner kicks at 5-3 while the Cardinals owned a 19-14 advantage in total shots. Hudak played all 90 minutes in front of the net and made eight saves leading to her seventh win of the 2016 season for Tech.

Vanderhoff and Henderson both attempted a team high six shots with Vanderhoff notching the lone goal of the match for Saginaw Valley State. Spleth logged 90 minutes in goal for the Cardinals and made three saves.

The Huskies will head to Northwood University on Sunday for another GLIAC contest to wrap up the weekend. The kickoff is slated for noon.