Michigan Tech goalkeeper Bri Barrows extends to keep a ball from the net during a game against Ferris State, Sunday, Oct. 5, at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Coming into their battle in Marquette against Northern Michigan Sunday afternoon, the Michigan Tech Huskies soccer team was looking for something, really anything, positive after struggling out of the gates this season to a 1-8-1 record. Maybe a positive result of any kind against the Wildcats was what the doctor ordered.

In the 40th minute, senior defender Olivia Gette took advantage of a lengthy free kick, and then senior goalkeeper Bri Barrows shut the door from there for the Huskies to earn their second win of the season, 1-0.

“You can’t get a much better feeling than beating a rival on their home turf,” said Huskies coach Melissa Kuhar, “especially after the start to conference we’ve had, the start to the season we had. So, yeah, absolutely thrilled with getting that win. It was tough conditions, their fields, grass pitch, which we’re not used to. The wind was absolutely insane, gusting in one direction, and it was tough to do anything when the ball just does its own thing in the air. But, I mean, super, super gutsy heart win. I said after the game, a big win for us in terms of just that diving-deep and grinding-it-out kind of thing.”

It wasn’t easy. The Wildcats recorded 23 shots, including 14 in the second half. They also generated 10 corner kicks, while the Huskies had none.

“I think it’s a testament to the players,” Kuhar said. “They have given so much, and will continue to give so much. We still have half of the conference. It just shows the type of human beings and players they are, that they’re going to dig deep in adversity moments. They’re going to grind out whatever it takes to win and try to get results. That’s the type of human beings they are.

“That’s a big testament to them. The conditions were not in our favor in the second half. Northern was just coming down our throat, and we had a little stoppage in the game with a girl going down that ate a lot of time. Tactically, we pulled them to the side, and talked through some stuff. They bought into that in that moment where chaos was happening.”

Kuhar and her staff discussed keeping everyone’s heads up and pushing through the remainder of the game as a group.

“The easiest thing would be to just kind of crumble,” she said. “They figured it out together with the help of my assistants. It just shows the type of people they are, and that’s ultimately the biggest thing out of all of this. Wins are going to come. Wins are going to come when you have the people that are going to put the work in.”

Kuhar had been calling on Gette throughout the season to take free kicks for the Huskies, and on Sunday, that finally paid off in a huge way when her kick flew into the upper right corner of the net.

“It’s just a testament to the person she is,” Kuhar said. “People don’t know the things she’s currently going through. Right up until 15 minutes before game time, I didn’t know if she was playing on Sunday. She’s been battling an injury that, post-season, she’ll get surgery to fix. She’s battling things that a lot of people don’t realize, and the toll it puts on her body.

“To get that kind of icing on the cake, to kind of solidify all the work and pain she’s gone through, was pretty nice. I didn’t realize that was her first career goal, so that’s kind of awesome. It’s nice for her to get that. She’s a leader on our team. Everyone looks up to her. For that to kind of happen, the reaction, I was watching the goal celebration from our bench, and the girls on the field, and it’s just pure joy. I think she was shocked she even scored it. So, it was kind of even funnier to watch the reaction. Again, shows who our team is, who Gette is, and what she does for our program.”

Given that the Huskies improved to 2-0-1 on the road, and are 2-4-1 in conference play, Kuhar joked that the Huskies should not return to Kearly Stadium.

“I think I’ve joked with everyone that I’m just scheduling away games from now on, no more home games,” she said. “It’s crazy, right? Trust me, if I could crack the conversation on why we’re so much more successful on the road, I wish I could. I’m happy we’re four games on the road. I don’t know if the girls are. That’s a lot of travel, and a lot on them, but super, super excited to kind of get out of here, upset some people on their home field, and also get a second crack at some teams.

“We’re going down to Davenport and Saginaw, and get a chance to kind of show them our new look a little bit. We have kind of tweaked some of the things we’re doing, and so another chance at them, I think those results can definitely sway our direction, especially with kind of our road momentum that we have.”

Scouting the Panthers

The Davenport Panthers are 1-7-3 on the season and 1-5-1 in GLIAC play after a weekend that saw them fall to Roosevelt, 2-0, and tie Ferris State, 1-1. The lone win for the Panthers came at Kearly Stadium on Friday, Sept. 26.

Sophomore Ella Chatfield leads the Panthers in scoring with two goals and four points in 11 games. Freshman forward Sofia Capoccia is the only other Panthers player with two goals.

Senior keeper Bailey Gauthier has started six games, going 0-4-2 overall with a 1.66 goals against average and a .667 save percentage. Sophomore Elizabeth Walter has started five games, going 1-3-1 with a 1.81 goals against average and a .750 save percentage.

Scouting the Cardinals

The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals are 6-3-2 overall and 4-2-1 in GLIAC play after a weekend that saw them defeat Purdue Northwest, 3-1, and Roosevelt, 4-1.

Senior midfielder Madi Bajis leads the team in scoring with six goals and 15 points in 11 games. Sophomore midfielder Emma Bradley, junior forward Lauryn Fracassi, and sophomore midfielder Emily Kolodin all have three goals each.

In goal, senior Lainey Garbarz has started all 11 games and sports a 5-3-2 record, with a 1.47 goals against average and a .758 save percentage.

Game times

The Huskies and Panthers are set to start Friday at 5 p.m. in Grand Rapids. Sunday, the Huskies and Cardinals are scheduled to start at 2 p.m. in University Center.