Michigan Tech forward Brooke Green corrals a ball during a match against Minnesota-Duluth Saturday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies soccer team went 0-1-1 last week to open the 2023 season, losing to St. Cloud State on Thursday night, 1-0, before playing to a draw with Minnesota-Duluth, 1-1, on Saturday afternoon.

While the results were not what the Huskies wanted in terms of wins, according to their coach, Bulut Ozturk, the difference between the games was night and day.

“I really do believe that the first match had a lot of excitement to it and nervous energy, and that showed a little bit right out on the field,” he said. “If you really look back the last time we played a real match, it’s been quite some time. It is tough to get opponents, even in preseason, to come up to the up year and play. So we didn’t get many matches there either.

“I think that was the biggest difference, was just settling in and just having nerves and excitement and ready to kind of kick the season off. You’re playing a good opponent. You’re playing an opponent that’s challenging you, that’s very aggressive, physical versus the ball, so that sometimes can make things even more exciting.”

Ozturk felt that the team struggled with that nervous energy on Thursday, but after giving up an early penalty kick goal on Saturday, they settled down and played much better soccer.

“That’s typically how it works out whenever you’re in the first match of the season,” he said. “Going into Saturday against Minnesota-Duluth, we give up an early one, which was something that definitely stings. At the same time, you see the bounce back and how resilient the team was dealing with that kind of adversity.

“You see a complete, I would say the stats say it as well, complete domination. We had 10 corner kicks. We had 13 shots. I don’t think Duluth took a shot on us in the second half. We were playing the way we wanted to play. We were constantly putting pressure on them, and the effort, the energy, the intensity, the focus was there.”

Ozturk has changed the way he wants the Huskies to attack the ball this season, and that change took a little time for the team to adjust to. Saturday, those in attendance could see those changes making their mark as the Huskies overwhelmed the Bulldogs with numbers.

“Whenever you have multiple Huskies around a teammate with the ball, then you’re able to have more options,” he said. “You’re able to maintain possession. You’re able to have more accurate passes because of the distances between the players. You’re able to move up the field collectively.

“Being able to do that also helps us in how we want to press defensively when we lose the ball, because of the distances that we have between lines and between players.”

The Huskies got their lone goal of the season Saturday from freshman forward Brooke Green, who capped off a corner kick play by striking a loose ball into the net. Ozturk felt that Green had an immediate impact on the game from the time she took the field, and that was impressive, considering that she was playing in just her second game.

“What Brooke Green was able to do when she went into the match was help change the match,” he said. ‘She brought so much energy and she became a game changer. Yes, she scored the goal, but she had other opportunities.

“The way she would defend, the way she would go through tackles, the way she would drive at players, and that was a freshman that was playing with a lot of confidence. That’s important to see.”

Ozturk was also proud of the efforts of several other players.

“There are several players that deserve to shout outs and accolades, and everything that they’re going to be receiving this year,” he said. “We’ve only given up one goal in a running play, (and) one goal with a penalty kick.

“So, to be 0-1-1 right now, and only giving up one goal on a running play, is kind of mind blowing, to be honest with you.”

UP NEXT

This weekend, the Huskies hit the road for two more non-conference matches before they get into GLIAC play. They start Friday with Illinois-Springfield at 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon, they will face Lewis at 1 p.m.

The Prairie Stars have opened their season 0-0-2 with 1-1 draws against both Tiffin and Findlay. Sierra Cenek scored the lone goal against the Dragons late in the first half. Anna Schurz scored against the Oilers to even the game late in the second half.

The Flyers opened their season with a 1-1 draw against Northwood, and then a 2-1 loss to Parkside on Saturday. By the time they see the Huskies, they will have faced three GLIAC opponents, as they played Purdue Northwest on Tuesday, and will face Northern Michigan on Thursday.