Huskies Soccer Bows Out in NCAA Tournament Against No. 2 ranked Ashland

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ASHLAND, OHIO – The Michigan Tech soccer team saw its season come to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, dropping 3-0 against the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and No. 2 nationally-ranked Ashland at Ferguson Field on Thursday evening.

"I saw a group that was unbelievably excited to be out here and they put in everything they had and worked extremely hard," Head coach Turk Ozturk said. "We had a lot of positives which is extremely important for a young team–we're graduating four seniors and we're going to miss them–They've done so much for this program. Now we have a young team that's coming back and has this experience, is really determined and looking forward to building onto this success."

It takes time to accomplish anything worthwhile or special and these young women have done that throughout the entire season and I know we're very proud of them, our staff is very proud of them and everyone back home is very proud of them. We accomplished all the goals we wanted and this game was a bit of a stretch goal but we know that coming back next year we're going to be even stronger and we want more."

Michigan Tech (8-5-7, 7-2-5 GLIAC) produced 13 total shots compared to Ashland's (18-0-4, 11-0-3 GMAC) seven–Although the Eagles found the back of the net three times while also holding an impressive 11-2 advantage on corner kicks, a feat the Huskies typically produce against their oppositions.

Despite the impressive season thus far, the Eagles win marked the first time they advanced out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 19 years.

Michigan Tech was forced to play from behind early, with Ashland striking first in the 14th minute from well inside Tech's 18. Freshman Ella Schnieder netted the goal, with McKinley Mendenhall notching her seventh assist of the season.

Freshman Brooke Green showed a lot of heart in the game, firing a shot on goal minutes after the Huskies went down a goal. She posted an additional shot on goal in the 38th minute, while Julia Pietila and Molly Bolang also took shots at the net in the opening half.

The Eagles freshman were on a mission, as Sydney Polen netted the second goal for AU in the 41st minute to enter halftime with a 2-0 edge.

Minutes after the start of the second half, the Eagles had five consecutive corner kicks–although the Huskies defense stood tall and allowed no good looks at the net during the stanza.

The Trio of Green, Bolang and Pietila once again went on the attack, each taking shots at Ashland's net before the Eagles turned around a minute later to net their third goal of the evening in the 58th minute off a scramble in front of the net by Tori Haggit.

The contest concludes the careers of Cassie Bonifas, MiKayla Marshalek, Gracie VanLangevelde and Reece Scott.