Ferris State Women's Soccer Falls To Michigan Tech In GLIAC Tourney Quarterfinals

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's soccer team had its 2016 campaign come to an end on Tuesday (Nov. 1) as the Bulldogs suffered a hard-fought 2-1 setback to the Michigan Tech Huskies in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Quarterfinals at MTU's Sherman Field in Houghton.

The Huskies rallied from a one-goal deficit and scored twice in the second half to edge the Bulldogs for the second time this campaign by a single score.

Ferris State jumped on the board first at 28:53 of the opening half when Brandi Wagner notched her second goal of the season on a shot from the edge of 18 into the upper right corner of the goal. It was assisted by Erica Bartlett and the score stood until halftime with FSU in front by a 1-0 count.

However, the host Huskies responded in the second half. They tied the outing up at a goal apiece when Jacqueline Mielke recorded her eighth goal of the year in unassisted fashion at 50:10 on a cut back shot off her left foot.

Then, a little over 10 minutes later, Marisa DeMario scored the eventual game-winning goal when she found the back of the net off a cross assisted by Jessica Splittgerber. It was her third goal this season and proved to be the difference in the league postseson tilt.

The Bulldogs held a slim 10-9 edge in total shots and scored their only goal in the first half despite being outshot by a 6-1 count in the first 45 minutes. In the second half, the Bulldogs had opportunities as they recorded nine shots to only three for Michigan Tech.

Ferris State also received four corner kick chances in the contest to only two for MTU and the Huskies were flagged for 11 fouls to only five for the Bulldogs.

Michigan Tech's Kirsen Hudak picked up her 11th win of the year in net for the Huskies with four saves in 90 minutes of work while FSU freshman Grace Kraft suffered the setback with three saves in going the distance.

The Bulldogs concluded the 2016 campaign with a 6-8-4 overall record and went 4-3-4 in conference regular-season action to finish tied for fifth in the league. In FSU's last 12 outings this year, the Bulldogs gave up only a single goal or less nine times and 10 of the decisions in that stretch either resulted in a victory or were determined by only one goal.

Ferris State was making its seventh consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearance and ninth overall in program history. 

The Bulldogs had only a pair of seniors this fall in four-year letterwinners Meredith Smith and Kate Kelly, who concluded their collegiate careers in the league quarterfinal match.