MIDLAND, Mich. – The Michigan Tech soccer team wrapped its nonconference slate on the road, falling to Northwood 4-1 at the Dean Soccer Field on Tuesday afternoon.

"We failed to put a complete game together today against a strong Northwood team," Tech coach Melissa Kuhar said. "We came out flat in the 2nd half and Northwood was able to capitalize on our mistakes. Giving up 2 goals in less than a minute time span killed any momentum we had and made us battle from behind early on in the 2nd half.

"Give credit to Northwood, they came out to play after halftime and made adjustments. They are a solid team that will have a good year in the GMAC. We simply need to capitalize on our chances. We outshot them but need to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. It's a quick turnaround. We have to put this game in the rearview and move forward to Davenport on Friday."

The two teams were scoreless through 45 minutes of action. However, Michigan Tech (2-1) was the more assertive team in the opening frame, getting chances at the Timberwolves net early and often in a physical affair that saw 14 fouls. In total, the Black & Gold outproduced Northwood 12-3 in shots while having a 3-0 advantage in shots on goal in the first period. 

The first shot of the game came in less than 90 seconds from Grace Hoeppner with the most threatening shots coming from Reilly Lovercheck hitting the crossbar in the 16th minute from left of the goal and in the second coming in the 32nd minute from Taylor Noble who intercepted a goalkeeper pass that hit the right post from close range. 

The script seemingly flipped in the second half as Northwood (2-0-2) scored twice in the first five minutes of play in the period. Carly Boyd got the assist on both of NU's goals with Addyson Gorzelski scoring in the 49th minute followed up by Ashytn Lange finding the back of the net in the 50th. Gorzelski's goal came off a corner kick that was finished by a header while Lange's goal was from close range, beating the defender and drawing the Huskies' keeper out of the net for the score.

MTU got on the board with a bouncing ball that crept from the far side of the goal up and over the Timberwolves' defense and netminder to make it a 2-1 deficit for the Black & Gold in the 55th minute.

Sophomore Ryley Winrich gave the Huskies a chance to tie the game with a long shot soaring to the crossbar and out of bounds in the 67th minute. Northwood got a similar scoring chance six minutes later from the left side by Ava Kettler with the shot's bounce finding the back of the net after being out of reach for goalkeeper Ludesha Reynolds in her first start for Tech, making it a two-score advantage for Northwood.

The Timberwolves would score for the final time in the 80th minute of action when Grave Weitzel found a loose ball deep in MTU's box with just Reynolds to beat with a low shot to the left corner sealing the game 4-1.

The Huskies outshot the Timberwolves 21-15, although NU posted 12 shots and two corner kicks in the second half. 

Gorzelski led Northwood with two shots on goal in 55 minutes while Grace Caywood made two stops as the Timberwolves' netminder.

Reynolds made one save in her first career start as a Husky while Ella Roach, Lovercheck and Winrich recorded one shot on goal for the Black & Gold.

Up Next

The Huskies have two more games on the docket this week, opening GLIAC play on Friday hosting Davenport at 6 p.m. MTU will conclude the weekend on Sunday with a noon tilt against No. 1 ranked Grand Valley State.