PREVIEW: Soccer closes regular season at home

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech soccer (3-3-1) will close regular season play in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this week with a pair of home games at Kearly Stadium. The Huskies host Wisconsin-Parkside (0-5-2) Friday at 7 p.m. followed by Purdue Northwest (1-5-1) Sunday at 12 p.m. for Senior Day. Both games can be streamed via MTU's Stretch Internet Portal. Tech is currently fifth and must finish eighth or better to advance to the GLIAC Tournament. The Huskies are coming off a two-game split in Houghton last week. The team collected a 2-1 victory over Northwood Thursday, but fell 1-0 to No. 16 Ferris State on a cool, rainy Sunday. 

FOR THE HUSKIES: The Huskies aim to bounce back after being shutout for the first time this spring. Junior forward Grace Shaw and senior forward/midfielder Jesse Jacobusse lead the squad with 10 points apiece. Jacobusse has five goals in seven games which ties her for third in the conference in the category. Shaw has three goals and four assists and tops the team in both shot attempts (26) and shots on goal (14).

Junior forward Haley Ruiter and senior midfielder Brooke Schauer have also contributed offensively with six points apiece. Schauer played perhaps her best game of the season Thursday and scored the winning goal over the Timberwolves.

Keighley Blindauer, Cassie Bonifas, and Mackenzie Scholz have also found the scoresheet this season with one point apiece. The Huskies have scored 12 goals and allowed opponents an average of 1.23 goals against per contest.

Goalkeepers Erika Gabriel and Amanda Young continue to split starts. Gabriel holds a .714 save percentage in four games and is 2-1. Young is 1-2-1 with a .722 save percentage. 

LAST TIME OUT: Michigan Tech allowed a goal to Ferris State's Maddie Dickens at the 85:50 mark of the second half and it was the tally of the game for either team. Dickens took a long-range strike from the left side. It deflected off a defender and went over the head of Young in goal. The Huskies earned chances to even the score but did not convert, including a shot by Shaw which grazed the right goal post in the 61^st minute.

SCOUTING THE RANGERS: Wisconsin-Parkside was projected to finish eighth in the conference and have had a rough start to the spring. Having graduated five of their top six goal scorers from a year ago, the Rangers have scored just six times this season. Alexis Baker leads the team with two goals, one assist. Alexis Bolger takes the most shots with 16 attempts, seven on frame. Bolger has one goal and one assist for Parkside. 

Izzy Guyer carried the bulk of the work in goal with six games (five starts). She has given up 11 goals and made 35 saves for a .761 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average. Brittany Nikolic is in her sixth year as head coach. The Rangers finished 7-11-1 in 2019 (2-6-1 GLIAC) and fell in the GLIAC quarterfinals to Saginaw Valley State 2-1.

SCOUTING THE PRIDE: Purdue Northwest is winless in its last four outings (0-3-1) and fell 4-1 to Saginaw Valley State Sunday afternoon away from home. The Pride suffered a 12-0 defeat to Grand Valley State on March 28 but has a 2-1 conference win over Davenport. PNW has six goals and allowed 29 goals to opponents. Senior Hailey Arlis leads the Pride with three goals, one assist (seven points). Arlis tallied one assists on Sunday. No other players have more than two points.

Purdue Northwest soccer was picked to finish 10^th in the GLIAC Spring 2021 preseason coaches' poll. Head coach Jake Truty is in his third season at the helm. PNW marked two conference wins in 2019.