HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech soccer team fell short to Bemidji State University Friday night 1-0 in the home opener at Sherman Field. The Huskies were outstanding once again on defense and had some chances on the attack in the first half, but the Bemidji State defense proved to be just as tough.

“Both teams played really hard and I was proud of our team for battling every minute of the game,” Head Coach Michelle Jacob said. “Unfortunately, the cards didn’t fall right for us today, but we made a lot of progress from last weekend to this weekend in creating opportunities on offense. Bemidji State is a good team and they had some very good players in their lineup.”

Michigan Tech (1-2-0) created some early offense in the fifth minute when senior Sarah Boyd created some space for the first shot of the match. Boyd, who had the game winning kick against Winona State last Friday night, lifted the ball just a little too high and it sailed over the crossbar. Later in the 17th minute, freshman Emily Zeitunian forced goalie Catherine Arneson to make a save.

Meanwhile, senior goalie Kirsen Hudak picked up a save of her own when she denied an attempt by Bemidji State’s Dani Nelson in the 11th minute. Hudak played the first 45 minutes of Friday’s match and kept the Beavers off the board for the entire time she was in front of the net.

The Huskies kept pressure on the Bemidji State defense throughout the remainder of the first half. Boyd had a shot blocked and Zeirunian had another attempt go just wide. Senior Taylor Archibald put a strike on net with 25 seconds left in the half, but it was saved by Arneson to keep the match scoreless with 45 minutes in the books.

Bemidji State (2-0-0) scored the only goal of the match in the early stages of the second half. Allyson Smith maneuvered in to the six-yard box and managed to slip the shot past the defense into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.