Huskies Start 2022 Regular Season On the Road
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team takes to the road to open the season, facing Minnesota Duluth Thursday and returning to action against St. Cloud State on Saturday. The match against Minnesota Duluth is slated for 7 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium, while the contest against St. Cloud State will take place at 1 p.m. inside Husky Stadium.
About Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota Duluth finished 12th in the NSIC last season, holding an overall record of 3-12-3 while going 3-9-3 in conference play. In the NSIC Preseason Soccer Coaches' Poll, the Bulldogs were selected to finish 11th.
UMD adds 10 newcomers to the roster while returning key players in Sarah Stange and Maddie Felton.
Stange finished the 2021 season with a goal and an assist, keeping UMD on the attack with 14 shots on goal for a SOG% of .867.
Felton played in 15 of the 18 matches, starting 10 for the Bulldogs last season. She is one of seven Bulldogs to see over 1,000 minutes during the 2021 season.
About St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State finished seventh in the NSIC last season, going 7-8-3 overall with a record of 7-5-3 in the loop. Recently, the Huskies were tabbed to finish seventh in the NSIC Preseason Soccer Coaches' Poll.
SCSU returns First-Team All-Conference player Karlie Valdez, who started all 18 games last season. She recorded eight points, accounting for three goals, two assists and one game-winning goal.
The Huskies also return goalkeeper Evie Kohn who started all 18 games a season ago, making 68 saves to go with five shutouts.
About Michigan Tech
Earlier this week, Michigan Tech was selected to finish fifth in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Head coach Bulut Ozturk returns for his third season after his team finished 12-7 overall and 9-5 within the conference last season. The Huskies return 19 from last year's roster while welcoming nine newcomers.
Among Michigan Tech's returners are Julia Pietila and Stephanie Yeager, looking to continue to bring offense to the Huskies.
Pietila returns for her sophomore season after leading the Huskies with seven goals in her freshman campaign, also tallying an assist. The Hartland, Michigan, native accounted for 17 shots, including one game-winning goal.
Yeager, who was tabbed All-GLIAC Second Team last season, led the team with 18 points, accounting for five goals and eight assists. She returns as tops in the conference in assists per game (0.42), where she finished last season ranked 24th nationally. Of her five goals, three were game-winning goals.
On the back line, the Huskies return Molly Bolang and Alicia Shatrau, who were both All-GLIAC performers.
Bolang, named All-GLIAC Second Team, returns for her junior season after starting every game for the Black & Gold a year ago. She played a big role in the 10 shutouts recorded by Michigan Tech last season.
Shatrau, named All-GLIAC Honorable Mention, returns for her fifth year after starting all but one game for the Huskies last season.
One Last Thing
Michigan Tech opened its season last year hosting Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State, besting UMD 4-0 and SCSU 1-0. Yeager delivered the game-winning goal against St. Cloud State.