Both goals in second half comeback
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team posted a 2-1 victory over Davenport in the home and GLIAC opener at Kearly Stadium on Friday Night.
Senior forward Julia Pietila accounted for both goals, marking her first multiple-goal game since her freshman campaign, lifting Michigan Tech to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in GLIAC play while Davenport drops to 2-1-1 and 0-1 in the loop.
“It was a good come from behind win for us, giving up the goal wasn’t planned but having Julia be able to get two goals and put them away was great—It was a good team win,” Tech head coach Melissa Kuhar said. “Bri came up huge today with a couple of big saves to keep us in it and our backline deserves a lot of credit as well.”
Both teams looked to have chances at the net in the first 20 minutes of action, although both teams would be called offsides on their respective attempts to score.
In total, MTU posted seven shots, one on goal, while DU posted two shots saved by Tech goalkeeper Bri Barrows, earning her third start of the season.
Davenport struck first with a shot from long range by Julia Tamsay from the right side, soaring past Barrows right inside the left post in the 56th minute, with Hailey Diekevers earning the assist.
Seven minutes later, Michigan Tech would even the score on a free-kick at midfield following a foul by the Panthers. Julia Pietila successfully buried a header over the Panthers goalkeeper to tie the game at 1-all in the 63rd minute.
The Hartland, Michigan, struck again following a throw-in by Molly Bolang on the near side. From there, Pietila trekked into the box and split between Davenport’s defender and goalkeeper on an incredibly tight angle to find the far side of the goal and give MTU a 2-1 advantage with less than eight minutes to play. Bolang earned the assist on the goal.
The Panthers had a final shot to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining in regulation but Barrows came up with another crucial stop to earn her first conference win of her career.
It was a good comeback win by our team,” Pietila added. “Everyone put in a full effort even after going down a goal—it was good to see them keep the same energy we started with. It felt good to get two goals and Bri did a good job keeping us in the game.”
Michigan Tech outshot Davenport 13-6 while both teams registered five shots on goal. Barrows made four stops, while Elizabeth Wolter recorded three saves.
Pietila paced the offense with four total shots as defensive specialists Emilie Clayton and Olivia Gette played all 90 minutes.
Up Next
The Huskies close out the first weekend of league play, welcoming No. 1 Grand Valley State to Kearly Stadium at noon on Sunday.
