Preview: GLIAC Soccer Quarterfinals

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HOUGHTON, Mich. – Already, this spring has been a complete reversal of fortunes for Michigan Tech soccer. The Huskies finished the season 5-3-1 overall and earned a chance to compete in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament after missing out in 2019. With the No. 5 seed, Tech travels to No. 4 seed Grand Valley State to play Tuesday, April 27 at 4 p.m. 

The two sides tied 2-2 at GVSU soccer field on March 21. At the time, the Lakers were ranked No. 1 in the country. Now the Huskies have momentum with four wins in their last five outings. Tech closed out the regular season Friday with 1-0 shutout of Wisconsin-Parkside at Kearly Stadium.

HOLDING THE LINE: Michigan Tech is 2-2-1 away from home and averages 16.6 shot attempts per game with 1.78 goals. Defense is a strength with a 0.96 goals against average. Junior goalkeeper Erika Gabriel is expected to start. The Grandville, Michigan native holds four clean sheets in six starts with 15 saves, 495 minutes, and a 0.73 goals against rating. Gabriel has not allowed a goal in 185 consecutive minutes. Senior Mackenzie Scholz and sophomore Neve Badalow also helped the Huskies hold opponents off the board on the back line. Badalow added a nifty through pass assist on the winning goal Friday. 

UP FRONT: Grace Shaw leads the Huskies offensively with 12 points on four goals and four assists. Shaw recorded 33 shots in nine games with a team high 15 shots on goal. Shaw surpassed her 11-point 2019 total after starting seven games as a sophomore.

Jesse Jacobusse's sideline speed stands out to the casual observer and she has 11 points and a team best five goals to show for it. Jacobusse recorded 27 shot attempts, with 13 on goal. She also tallied a multi-goal game on April 3 against Saginaw Valley State.

Junior forward Haley Ruiter has a knack for finding the net at just the right time with two game-winning goals this spring and 10 total points. Ruiter enters Tuesday night's affair on a two-game scoring streak. She posted a season high five shot attempts against Wisconsin-Parkside Friday.

Senior midfielder Brooke Schauer is the GLIAC leader in assists with five.

BIG PICTURE: The Huskies return to the GLIAC tournament for the first time since 2018, where they tied for fourth place and made the quarterfinals. Last season, Tech went 5-10-1 and finished eighth. In program history, Michigan Tech has eight post-season appearances and finished runner-up twice, with two NCAA Region Tournament qualifications (2013, 2015). In 11 seasons of existence, Tech holds a 99-73-15 record. They could earn win number one-hundred Tuesday. 

SCOUTING THE LAKERS: Grand Valley State (3-1-1) played a disjointed spring due to four postponements or cancelations. Even within the small sample size, the Lakers showed they still had a propensity to score with 26 goals in just five conference matchups. Grand Valley State won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2019 with a 25-1-0 overall record. Their only loss this spring was a 2-1 home defeat to Ashland on April 16. This was also the last time the Lakers played.

Michigan Tech tied Grand Valley State on March 21, despite being outshot 23-7. Jacobusse and Shaw scored for the Huskies in regulation, then neither team scored in two 10-minute overtime periods.

Senior forward Ava Cook tops the league with 20 points including eight goals and four assists. Cook was a unanimous first-team All-American selection in 2019 after leading the nation in goals (29) and points (70). The Huskies will need to limit Cook's touches to be successful Tuesday night.