During a stoppage in play due to a referee’s injury, Northern Michigan University players talk over strategy during a GLIAC women’s soccer game played against Saginaw Valley State at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette on Oct. 6. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
HOUGHTON — The Northern Michigan University women’s soccer team took advantage of a shorthanded Michigan Tech team on Friday to score a 2-0 victory at Kearly Stadium in Houghton.
The Wildcats struck late in the first half and again early in the second half to earn the win against a Huskies team missing multiple players due to injuries.
But MTU first-year coach Melissa Kuhar didn’t want to use that as an excuse.
“With the players we had out and whatnot, against a good team, it is kind of the match maybe I expected,” she said. “I think we came out, had energy, and the effort and kind of that feistiness that a rivalry game would have. We just kind of didn’t have that final piece to the puzzle.
“We relied on a lot of people to play some heavy minutes just with a lack of some subs and some just people out. They’re a good team, so credit to them.
“They do what they do, and they do it really well.”
This was Kuhar’s first time coaching in a Tech-Northern game, and while it wasn’t her hoped-for outcome, he still enjoyed getting the chance to coach against Wildcats coach Jon Sandoval, who pushed her to come to Houghton.
“It’s cool to have that kind of rivalry at this level,” she said. “It was a fun battle, and kind of the week leading in was fun to just prepare. You kind of put that extra energy and effort, especially with only one game on the weekend. It was a good kind of battle. They’re a good team.
“I would have loved to come out with a different result, but, yeah, it’s all part of it.”
NMU improved to 7-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the GLIAC, holding onto first place by a half-game over both Grand Valley State (4-1-2 in the league) and Ferris State (4-1-1). Tech slipped to 4-6 and 2-5.
The Wildcats broke a scoreless tie with a free kick not quite 42 minutes in. After Huskies sophomore forward Brooke Green was whistled for a yellow card, Northern was awarded a free kick.
That’s when midfielder Brooke Pietila blasted a kick that sailed over multiple Huskies before bouncing in close to Tech keeper Bri Barrows and ending up in the net.
From there, the Wildcats kept the pressure on Barrows, finishing the first half with six shots, three of them on goal with Barrows stopping two.
In the second half, a miscue defensively allowed NMU midfielder Justina L’Esperance to find time and space at the Huskies’ end of the field. She took a pass from forward Molly Pistorius, got in alone and beat Barrows late in the 60th minute.
“I think, for the most part, the two goals we gave up were not them in kind of more or less the run of play,” said Kuhar. “It was kind of, again, our mistakes that kind of bit us in the butt a little bit.”
The Wildcats controlled the ball for a large portion of the rest of the game, keeping the Huskies from being able to find a way to get on the board themselves.
Barrows finished with seven saves, while NMU’s Sally Patton had four.
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