Michigan Tech forward Julia Pietila uses her body to keep the ball away from a Ferris State defender during a game Friday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

MARQUETTE — After defeating Ferris State on Friday, 1-0, and then playing to a scoreless draw with the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, the Michigan Tech Huskies soccer team improved to 8-2-7 overall and 7-1-5 in GLIAC play, which put them in a tie for second with the Grand Valley State Lakers.

The Huskies hit the road for the final game of the regular season against No 12 Northern Michigan Thursday, and with a win, the Huskies can claim at least a tie for the GLIAC regular season title.

Huskies coach Bulut Ozturk was proud of the way his team battled both their opponents and the weather to earn key points in the final home weekend of the season.

“I was very happy with the weekend and the women on our team,” he said. “I thought we were the better team in, actually, both matches. Not only did we keep the ball well, we pressed well defensively.”

The lone goal the Huskies scored came off the foot of freshman forward Brooke Green, who has three goals this season, two as game-winners, and one as a game-tying goal. What impresses Ozturk the most about Green is that she is doing a great job of buying into what the coaching staff wants out of her to help the team be successful.

“Everyone on our team has to defend,” he said. “That is kind of a prerequisite to even play on this team. So we have to be organized. We have to be able to defend. We have to be aggressive.

“Brooke Green, you could see that work ethic, work rate. For her to be able to close down the way she did, press the way we were, win that ball, and then have the awareness to be able to turn and see the goal, and then finally having the composure to be able to recognize that she had angle for the shot, and then, obviously, from there, having the proper technique to be able to finish. All of those steps are amazing to see. That’s very good progress in her, and her development, and she just has a very bright future.”

While she has not scored the way she was, perhaps, expected to prior to the season, junior forward Julia Pietila has been a great role model for Green. She has embraced everything the coaching staff has asked of her, even taking on positions she is not necessarily familiar with, in order to help the Huskies defend when necessary.

Ozturk cannot say enough about how hard Pietila is working to be an effective player on both sides of the ball.

“Julia Pietila has been doing amazing,” he said. “She’s everywhere out on the field. She’s defending. She is attacking, and creating opportunities for us. Her hold up play is very good. Her 1-on-1 play is very good. She creates opportunities for us offensively.”

With the way she is playing, Ozturk feels that Pietila, like her teammates, is working hard to remain a piece of the larger puzzle for the Huskies.

“She doesn’t have to be the one to put the ball in the back of the net,” Ozturk said. “It doesn’t matter who puts the ball in the back of the net. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to win matches. I’m very happy with her and where she’s at this point in the season.

“Collectively, as a team, we’re looking like we’re going to be peaking at the right time, and this is when you want to peak.”

WEATHER MOTIVATION

The Huskies battled rain and snow on Friday night to defeat the Bulldogs. On Sunday, they battled the snow and colder temperatures to earn the draw. Ozturk feels that his team seems to be quite happy to battle the elements at the same time they are trying to defeat an opponent.

“We talk about them being warriors out there,” said Ozturk. “For them to go out there, in just their jersey and their shorts, and be able to perform in those kinds of conditions, is remarkable.

“They want to play teams in the snow. They want to play teams in the cold. They want those downstate teams coming up here and just freezing. They enjoy that. They love that. So, it’s pretty cool to see how we perform in those conditions.”

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

The Wildcats come into Thursday’s game with a record of 12-1-4 overall and 8-1-4 in GLIAC play. They played to a draw with the Huskies on Friday, Oct. 6, and have gone 5-0-1 since that game at Kearly Stadium.

Sophomore forward Molly Pistorius leads the team with 10 goals and 24 points in 17 games. Since scoring the game-tying goal against the Huskies, she has two goals and three assists in her last six games.

Sophomore forward Hannah Kostamo is second on the team in scoring, with six goals and 15 points. However, she has just one goal over her past seven games.

Junior forward Stephanie Trujillo has also had a good season with four goals and 12 points.”

GAME TIME

The Huskies and Wildcats will face off at 3 p.m. Thursday at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette.