Huskies soccer looks to find winning formula quickly
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HOUGHTON -- The Michigan Tech Huskies soccer team is off to a very similar start to last season in terms of wins as they dropped their season-opening games to Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State.
The issue, as coach Melissa Kuhar put it, was that the Huskies didn't play their style.
"The weekend was tough in terms of, I felt like we didn’t play 100% our style of soccer in our games," she said. "I think, the first half on Friday, we didn’t play well. Watching that film right now, it’s tough to look at it, because it’s just not who we are in our style.
"But then, we put some good time in, in that second half. Then again on Sunday, we just got to find that final thing to work in the final third to make goals happen. But, they’re coming. We’re not at our peak. We’re nowhere close. We’ll get there."
While she does not have goals to show for it, sophomore midfielder Sophie Rater drove offense all weekend for the Huskies. She finished with six shots, which was double her closest teammates.
"Rater’s a good player, right? She attracts attention, which has to open up other stuff for us," Kuhar said. "So, if two girls are going to her, there’s someone else open on the field.
"She has a good mindset, and she really wants to try to do a lot. I sometimes have to tell her, like, 'Hey, you don’t have to do it all.'"
Kuhar pointed out that Rater drew a lot of attention in both games.
"She was getting frustrated at times, because she had three girls on her at moments," said Kuhar. "So, it’s just trying to find the people that are open. She’s going to attract a lot of attention, which will help us open up things. Now it’s, as a team, trying to find how we get that ball to those people.
"But, she’s a solid player that is going to continue to attract attention, especially now with game experience from last year. She’s going to open up things. So, hopefully then that opens up things for everyone else."
In her Huskies' debut, freshman forward AK Puryear only managed to get one shot on net, but she did a lot with her 115 minutes of playing time. She showed a high level of skill, and could prove to be a big piece of the puzzle moving forward.
"She came in, and she didn’t skip a beat," Kuhar said. "I joke when they go in. I’m like, 'Oh, it’s just soccer guys. You’re just freshmen on a soccer team.' She really has not really skipped a beat, just kind of stepped into that role, and really stepped up for us. She’s a solid player that has a lot of potential back there."
Kuhar hinted that the Huskies will be making lineup changes in an attempt to find the right combination to create more offense. She believes that Puryear could play a different role as needed.
"We’re gonna shake some things up this weekend, because we didn’t score goals," she said. "We have to figure out, moving some people around. She’s (Puryear) a kid that we can kind of put in a couple different spots, potentially her along with a lot of other people.
"We’re going to see a little bit of a different lineup, and potentially her higher up on the field."
On the back end, fifth-year keeper Bri Barrows made 17 saves over the course of the weekend. Returning this season after missing the end of 2025 due to injury, Barrows is already doing things that will keep the Huskies in games if they can get the offense sorted.
"Bri was lights out this weekend," said Kuhar. "It was probably double-digit saves, which should not happen as for a goalkeeper, and she’s feeling it a little bit (Tuesday), grandma status has hit her a bit that fifth-year status. Her body’s in a bit of pain, but she was lights-out for us and she will continue to be.
"She’s a solid player that came back with kind of a new look on life in the sport, having come back from a pretty brutal injury. She has definitely been big for us, but now we have to kind of make her do less. Goalkeepers should be bored. She did too much for us and had to do too much."
Scouting the Timberwolves
The Timberwolves enter this weekend in the same position the Huskies are in at 0-2. Northwood lost to Ferris State, 2-0, Thursday before falling 4-1 to Saginaw Valley State Sunday.
They are led by freshman forward Madelyn Boyd, who scored their lone goal so far. Senior forward Mari Jackson picked up an assist on the goal.
In goal, senior keeper Lindsay Jacob has played in both games, giving up all six goals. She sports a goals against average of 3.00.
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets are 1-1 on the season after defeating Lewis, 1-0, but then losing to No. 19 Grand Valley State, 3-1.
Freshman midfielder Tori Aberle and junior forward Evania McCandless both have a goal each to start the season. Junior midfielder Maddy McCort has an assist.
In goal, junior Anna Taylor started both games. She racked up the shutout against Lewis and played half of the game against Grand Valley, giving up one goal.
Game times
The Huskies and Timberwolves play Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the Huskies and Yellow Jackets will play at 2:30 p.m. Both games will be played in Cedarville, Ohio.