Huskies Drop 3-2 Home Contest Against Northern Michigan
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Northern Michigan (3-7, 0-2 GLIAC) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
|
Michigan Tech (3-5-1, 0-2 GLIAC) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Facing wintery conditions throughout the afternoon, the Michigan Tech soccer team suffered its fourth consecutive defeat in a 3-2 loss at home against Northern Michigan on Sunday (Oct. 13) in the final non-conference match of the season. With the loss, the Huskies see their record drop to 3-5-1 overall while the Wildcats improve to 3-7 on the year.
Down 2-1 with less than 10 minutes left in the game, the Huskies were given a penalty kick when sophomore Gabby Sgambati was taken down from behind inside the penalty box. Senior Maisy Snyder stepped up to take the kick for the Huskies, and she calmly snuck it underneath the diving Northern Michigan goalkeeper for the tying goal in the 83rd minute.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats broke the deadlock five minutes later when a cross from Evelyn Flor found its way through the traffic surrounding the Tech goal to Isabelle Brusilow. The Wildcat freshman chested the cross into the goal for the game-winner in the 88th minute.
Northern Michigan got on the board first in the third minute when Caroline Halonen intercepted a pass from the MTU defense and sprinted towards the goal with a 3v2 advantage. She lifted her shot over junior Amanda Young and into the top corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Sgambati would equalize for the Huskies two minutes later. Junior Jesse Jacobusse broke up a pass and started the counter-attack from midfield. She quickly found junior Brooke Schauer in the center of the field, who put in a perfectly weighted pass through the Wildcat backline for Sgambati. The sophomore calmly slipped her shot past the charging goalkeeper and into the back of the net for the equalizer in the fifth minute.
Northern Michigan retook the lead in the 33rd minute following a set piece header by Gaelin Hirabayashi. Caroline Halonen floated a corner kick into the box towards Hirabayashi, the tallest Wildcat player on the pitch, and she out-jumped the Husky marking her to get her head to the ball and past Young for the go-ahead goal.
The Huskies edged their Upper Peninsula rivals in total shots (14-10) and shots on goal (10-6) while conceding four corner kicks to their three. Northern Michigan was called for 17, including a yellow card in the 83rd minute on Isabela Cardoso for her foul on Sgambati inside the box, while Michigan Tech committed 10 fouls.
Young faced six shots on goal and saved three of them, while Brianna Frontuto added eight saves to her GLIAC-leading save total. Schauer and Jacobusse were both credited with the assist on Sgambati's goal. Sgambati, Snyder, and freshman Neve Badalow led the team in shots on goal with two each.
"We didn't play a good game today, there's not a whole lot to say," said head coach Michelle Jacob. "We made simple mistakes that cost us big. We gave them opportunities, and it was pretty frustrating today."
The Huskies continue their stretch of home contests when they host Davenport on Friday (Oct. 18) at 5 p.m. The Panthers (3-5-1, 1-0-1 GLIAC) enter Friday's match following a 0-0 draw against Parkside on Sunday and a 3-0 victory against Purdue Northwest on Friday (Oct. 11).
