Bulldogs Battle To Scoreless Draw At Northern Michigan
Not since 2003 had the Ferris State University women's soccer team been involved in a scoreless two-overtime tie, but that came about this Friday (Sept. 18) afternoon as the Bulldogs and Northern Michigan Wildcats played to a 0-0 double-overtime deadlock in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division outing at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette, Mich.
The last time, Ferris State finished 110 minutes of scoreless action was in the 2003 season (Oct. 15) as the Bulldogs and Tiffin Dragons played to a 0-0 double-overtime tie in a conference tilt in Tiffin, Ohio.
Freshman goalkeeper Rachel McCollum (Grand Blanc) registered her second straight shutout as she stopped all seven NMU shots on goal. Her counterpart, netminder Jessica Baker posted six saves for the Wildcats.
The contest, which was a physical one as evidenced by a combined 31 fouls committed by both teams, saw Northern Michigan hold a 9-6 shots advantage over the opening 45 minutes of play. Ferris State came out in the second half and proceeded to outshoot the 'Cats by a 7-5 margin though neither team was able to get on the scoreboard.
Ferris State's defense stood tall in the first overtime as McCollum recorded the stanza's lone save on a NMU shot at 91:07. The other two Wildcat shots both went wide of the net.
The second overtime frame began with Northern Michigan continuing applying offensive pressure as the Wildcats had three straight shots with McCollum saving the first one at the 100:17 mark and the two others going wide. The Bulldogs' lone shot occurred with 33 seconds remaining as sophomore defender Kasey Ruimveld's (Vicksburg) shot was saved by NMU goalkeeper Jessica Baker. The 'Cats had the last opportunity to win the contest but McCollum made the save on Dana Stephens' shot as time expired.
With the tie in Friday's matchup, the Bulldogs move to 1-4-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the conference's North Division. The Wildcats go to 2-0-3 overall and 2-0-1 in league play as result of the deadlock.
Northern Michigan outshot the Bulldogs 21-14, which featured a 7-1 advantage in the two extra sessions, while both teams produced three corner kicks apiece.
For Ferris State, Kasey Ruimveld recorded a team-leading two shots on goal and had five for the match. Freshman defender-midfielder Hillary Braun (Rochester Hills/Rochester) totaled three shots while sophomore forward Cassie Aro (Gaines/Linden) compiled two.
The Bulldogs return to action this Sunday (Sept. 19) visiting the Michigan Tech Huskies in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Opening kick for the conference divisional contest is 12 p.m. (EDT) at MTU's Sherman Field. Michigan Tech is presently midst its inaugural season as a NCAA Division II varsity sport.
NOTES - Ferris State played in a pair of double-overtime ties in 2009 - 2-2 against Lewis (Sept. 1) and 1-1 versus Ashland (Oct. 9) both held in Big Rapids . . . Goalkeeper Rachel McCollum has compiled a .947 saves percentage (18 total saves) with a 0.31 goals-against average (one allowed) in her last three appearances to date. In her first three outings this season, McCollum compiled a .792 saves percentage (19 total saves) and had a 1.67 goals-against average (five allowed) . . . Besides the 2003 two-overtime scoreless tie at Tiffin (Oct. 15), the only other time in FSU program history which the Bulldogs were held scoreless after 110 minutes was in 2002 (Oct. 13) at Saginaw Valley State.