Huskies soccer inching closer to goals with GLIAC play opening
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HOUGHTON -- With losses to Northwood and Cedarville last weekend, the Michigan Tech Huskies soccer team has started the season 0-4, having dropped all of their non-conference matches. This weekend, they return home, but will have to contend with the start of the GLIAC portion of the schedule by hosting Saginaw Valley State Friday and Grand Valley State Sunday.
That doesn't mean the Huskies have not learned a lot from the experience.
"Yeah, obviously, not ideal with two losses," said Huskies coach Melissa Kuhar. "Our Northwood game, we outshot them 19-9. We just couldn’t find the back of the net. We missed a PK (penalty kick) early, which kind of was a bit of a damper on it. Found a goal, which was nice, off of a corner, and then just gave up some goals we shouldn’t have, a PK at the end and all of that. (It was) a game I thought we should have won. The score doesn’t kind of reflect the full game and, and how we out-possessed them.
"Then, going into Saturday’s game, Cedarville is a really good team. We had them, you know, 1-0 off of a free kick we had given up, and then we got a red card in that game and we were playing down. So, it was just us crawling and scraping and trying to make do with what we had. They scored two goals, I mean, when you have an extra player on the field, it doesn’t help our case, but I think we fought really hard in that game. (We) actually created more in the attack with a player down, which is crazy. But, overall, happy with the energy and effort our team gave. We have to find some wins. We have to find some goals."
While Kuhar and her staff has plans to adjust the lineup in the matches last week, injuries and other circumstances got in the way of those plans.
"We faced some injuries, which made us have to kind of resort back to what we were doing," Kuhar said. "(We) walked away with a few girls with some bumps, but, overall, we were able to kind of mix up some stuff. But, (we) didn’t do it to the best of our ability I wanted to, just with having one practice on the week. So, this upcoming week, we’ll have three solid practices to be able to kind of tinker with some stuff, and then look to kind of make some changes as we go into conference (play)."
The Huskies scored their first goal of the season in the loss to Northwood. Sophomore midfielder Kenzie Dollison was the one who got the last touch on the ball before it went into the net.
"Kenzie’s been playing well this year so far," said Kuhar. "As a midfielder, you don’t get really all the glory and stuff, so it was nice for her to kind of sneak one in on the corner. Just a little scrappy (play,) found it popped out to her, and she buried it.
"All of our midfielders have been pretty solid for us, have really helped create a lot, and really battled on both sides of the ball. So, it was kind of a nice reward for her."
In goal, fifth-year keeper Bri Barrows has already made 27 saves in four games, and sports a 2.75 goals against average.
"Like I’ve said consistently, she’s helping us out," Kuhar said. "She’s really been a solid rock back there, but she doesn’t do it without the defense in front of her. You have Olivia Gette back there that’s been solid and consistent.
"You have a variety of other players. You know, Braydin (Noble) played a good chunk this weekend. Amelia (Gregory)’s been in there. Havanah (Brockington), AK (Puryear), Gabby (Gabrielle Klein), all players that have been really solid back there. And then there are some players that stepped up on the defensive line with Harper (Nelder) and O.J. (Olivia Jones) going in this weekend. But, yeah, Bri’s been consistent. I need her to continue to be consistent. I think if it was up to her, she wouldn’t want to give up as many goals. I think that’s kind of that fuel that feeds the fire to try to continue to kind of be at our best."
Scouting the Cardinals
The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals are 2-2 to start the season after a weekend that saw them beat Walsh, 5-0, but lose to Findlay, 1-0.
They are led offensively by freshman forward Melanie Kolnitys. She has three goals and seven points.
Junior midfielder Kylie Cesarek and sophomore forward Abby Ellis both have two goals each.
In goal, junior keeper Ava Wilberding has started all four game, giving up four goals on 16 shots for a 1.05 goals against average.
Scouting the Lakers
The No. 5 Grand Valley State Lakers are 2-1-1 on the season after a weekend that saw them defeat Bemidji State, 2-1, but lose to No. 16 Minnesota State, 1-0.
Junior defender Vesna Dennison and senior midfielder Sonya Mehta both have two goals each to lead the Lakers in scoring. Sophomore forward Ava Kozek has a goal and two assists as well.
Sophomore keeper Macie Hunter has started all four games. She has given up four goals on 12 shots, and sports a goals against average of 1.00.
Game times
The Huskies and Cardinals will meet Friday at 6 p.m. at Kearly Stadium. Sunday, the Huskies and Lakers face off at 12 p.m.