Michigan Tech midfielder Seulgi Lee puts her body between the ball and two Northern Michigan defenders during a game Friday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — For the better part of 87 minutes of soccer on Friday night, in the wind and the rain, it appeared as though the Michigan Tech Huskies were going to leave Kearly Stadium with a win over their Upper Peninsula rivals, the Northern Michigan Wildcats. Instead, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw.

The Huskies scored 32:50 into the contest when junior midfielder Seulgi Lee scored her team-leading fifth goal of the year on a free kick from the left corner of the box when she dropped the ball just shy of Wildcats goalkeeper Jillian Thompson, who could only watch as the ball hit the ground and then bounced away from her and into the net.

Lee continues to develop into a scoring threat nearly every time she has the ball, much to the delight of coach Bulut Ozturk.

“She’s a playmaker, she’s a goal scorer,” he said. “We need her having good matches later in the stretch of the season like this for us to be able to get the results that we need. If she’s having a good game, if she’s getting on the board, then everything’s moving along just the way we need it to go.”

Lee had two really good looks before scoring her goal. The first came off a free kick that sailed over the net, the second came off a pass from junior forward Julia Pietila in the middle of the box. Lee’s shot just ended up over the crossbar.

“She’s very good, dangerous, in her free kicks,” Ozturk said. “This was, I think, a lower one she hit too, so it was good to see. She works on it pretty hard on her own at practices as well. So being able to get consistent with that is huge.”

From there, the Huskies (4-2-5 overall, 3-1-3 GLIAC) controlled their own fate, and they continued to attack Thompson as long as they had the wind at their collective backs.

In the second half, the Wildcats pushed back, however, they struggled, both in play and on set pieces, to be able to get anything through to fifth-year keeper Gracie VanLangevelde.

That all changed on a seemingly innocent kick by junior midfielder Brooke Pietila. About halfway through the 87th minute of the match, Pietila floated a kick from about 25 yards out that appeared poised to sail over the net. VanLangevelde leapt into the air to knock it away safely, but instead the ball bounced down in front of her. As she came crashing down to the ground off her feet, VanLangevelde fell out of position, allowing forward Molly Pistorius to crash in and, while falling, head the ball into the net to tie the match at 87:35.

“That’s just the type of kid that she is,” said Wildcats coach Jon Sandoval. “She had a couple of different opportunities tonight that maybe she should have scored, but then on the one, that maybe isn’t as clear and obvious, and because she just doesn’t quit, she’s relentless in front of goals. She’s relentless in everything that she does on the field, so it feels really good. I’m sure she’s really excited about getting that equalizer.”

For the Wildcats (7-1-3 overall, 3-1-3 GLIAC), the goal was part of a push that saw them get several plays in close to VanLangevelde, but almost no shots through until the late stages.

“We threw just a couple more numbers forward, we lost a little more midfield, added more of our players up top, and just we started to go a little bit more direct earlier than what we normally would,” said Sandoval. “Just because we know Tech’s a tough team to break it down, so we wanted more time than what we normally give to opponents.”

For the Wildcats, earning a draw, even one as late as this one, was an important step in their journey, according to Sandoval, as they continue to learn how important it is to finish games.

“Especially with the GLIAC this year, everything is so tight,” he said. “Michigan Tech is having a good year, so to come in here and to get a point is really important. We’re pleased with the result, and we do believe it’s a fair result as well. I’m not sure that we came in deserving the win, so we’ll definitely take the point.”

Ozturk was proud of the way his team handled everything from the weather to the way the Wildcats pressured them throughout the night.

“I’m extremely proud of them,” he said. “We went, what, 87, 88 minutes of everything that we had. Northern is obviously a very good team. We know that they’re dangerous. They’re very dangerous offensively.

“They have the ability to be able to score from anywhere, whether it’s a set piece or the run of play. I’m just extremely proud of my group.”

Both teams had two corner kicks each, one in each half.

VanLangevelde finished with four saves to earn the draw. Thompson had one save for the Wildcats.

UP NEXT

The Huskies are off until next Friday when they head out on the road and face the GLIAC-leading Grand Valley State Lakers at 7 p.m.