Weekend sweep for Huskies
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team closed the final home weekend on the right foot completing the first GLIAC weekend sweep of the season with a 2-0 victory over Roosevelt on Senior Day, Sunday afternoon at Kearly Stadium.
The Huskies move to 6-8 overall and 4-7 in the GLIAC while the Lakers fall to 0-10-4 overall and 0-9-2 in the loop.
“It was a good game, although it could’ve gone a bit better in some areas,” Tech head coach Melissa Kuhar said. “Overall it was a really good game and a nice day to honor our seniors that have given a lot to this program. We did a good job of riding the momentum and we just have to keep it going. Roosevelt’s goalkeeper kept them in the game and with us having 16 corners and 26 shots we’ve got to find the back of the net. Roosevelt is a better team than the first time we saw them this season.”
Michigan Tech got on the board in a hurry needing just four minutes of game time to find the back of the net with three shots and a corner kick preceding the Huskies’ goal. Kiersen Korienek netted her second goal of the season off an assist by Julia Pietila in the offensive zone advancing the ball to Korienek with her defender beat, firing a shot from her right foot and finding the top left corner of the net.
The Black & Gold continued the offensive chances with four corner kicks and five shots over the next 16 minutes with Pietila accounting for two shots on goal while Jordan Noble added one.
Defensively, the Huskies held Roosevelt to just three shots and one corner kick in the first period while offensively MTU totaled 16 first-half shots and eight corners.
Michigan Tech poured on 10 additional shots in the second frame, totalling 16 shots on goal. However, Roosevelt’s goalkeeper put together a respectable game in net recording a season-high 14 saves, stealing away multiple scoring chances from the Black & Gold the entire game.
The Huskies earned their first penalty kick of the season with less than six minutes to play in the contest, seeing senior Emilie Clayton convert on the PK with a shot from her right foot finding the back of the net low and to the left of the Lakers goalkeeper to give MTU the insurance goal and ultimately decide the game, 2-0.
Pietila recorded a season-high five shots on goal to lead the Huskies as Kiersen Korienek added three shots on target. Goalkeeper Bri Barrows made six stops to record her first GLIAC weekend shutout of the season bringing her clean sheet total to four.
“I think we really stepped up and were due for a win,” Bri Barrows added. “As coach has said before, it’s a heart game and we really just all laid our hearts out there this weekend and it felt good to win for the seniors. It felt great to get the first two GLIAC shutouts of the season as well. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going into next weekend.”
Daisy Hernandez-Loya posted a team-high two shots on goal while goalkeeper Roxana Herrara recorded a season-high 14 saves.
Up Next
The Huskies have one game on the docket next week, traveling to Kenosha, Wisconsin, for a Sunday matinee against Parkside at noon.
