PREVIEW: Soccer heads to Marquette

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Fresh off an overtime tie at No. 1 Grand Valley State, Michigan Tech soccer travels to Marquette for a matchup against Northern Michigan (1-1) Sunday, March 28 at 4 p.m. inside the Superior Dome. The Wildcats swept the Huskies during the 2019 season 3-2 in Houghton and 2-1 in Marquette. The Huskies (1-0-1) have seven games remaining before the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference quarter finals at the end of April. 

LAST TIME OUT: Trying to hand No. 1 ranked Grand Valley State their first home loss since 2016, Michigan Tech scored twice and went home with a 2-2 overtime tie Sunday at GVSU Soccer Field.

Tech goalkeeper Amanda Young played a strong first half and secured five saves on seven shots. Jesse Jacobusse scored to give Michigan Tech a 1-0 lead going into halftime and Grace Shaw tied the game 2-2 in the 88^th minute to send the game to an extra session. 

FOR THE HUSKIES: After two games, Jacobusse (Chelsea, Michigan) is already halfway to her four-goal total in 2019. Last year, the senior started all 16 games and tied for the team lead with three assists. Jacobusse produced a career high six goals as a sophomore with one multi-goal game against Purdue Northwest. 

Forward Grace Shaw made just six starts in 2019 but still managed to tie for the team lead in assists (three), second in goals (four). Shaw tallied a goal and an assist against the Lakers and has six shot attempts over two games.

Michigan Tech kept its goalkeeping trio intact with junior Erika Gabriel, sophomore Gracie VanLangevelde, and senior Amanda Young. Gabriel made two saves for a clean sheet against Davenport and Young helped preserve a tie against Grand Valley State Sunday.

Michigan Tech soccer started out its 2021 spring campaign with a new coaching staff and a balanced squad. Head coach Bulut Ozturk brought five years of experience, including two years at NCAA Division I institutions to the Huskies, hoping to turn around a 5-10-1 overall record (2-7 GLIAC) in 2019-20. Michigan Tech scored 21 goals in 16 games and managed 15 shots per game.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Northern Michigan suffered a 7-0 loss to the defending national champion Grand Valley State on Friday but bounced back nicely for a 4-2 win over Davenport Sunday. Caroline Halonen scored off a corner kick from Brooke Pietila just three minutes into the game. The Wildcats landed six shots on goal compared to three from the Panthers.

NMU was projected ninth in the GLIAC preseason coaches' poll. The Wildcats returned 14 players from last year's roster. Of those 14 student-athletes, 10 saw action in at least 14 games in 2019.

Last season's assists leader Halonen returns for her junior season after she finished with two goals, including a game-winner, and five assists during the 2019 campaign. The other multiple goal scorer from the 2019 team who returns is junior Rachael Erste. She contributed two goals and one was a game-winner.

The Wildcats finished the 2019 season with a 5-13 overall record, the best for NMU since 2015, and a 2-7 GLIAC mark. Northern Michigan advanced to the GLIAC Tournament where they fell to Grand Valley State in the first round.