FSU Soccer Clinches Postseason Home Contest & Becomes Winningest Team In History

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's soccer team officially clinched a first-round postseason home contest and became the winningest team in school history with a 3-1 triumph over Michigan Tech on Sunday (Oct. 18) at the FSU Soccer Field in Big Rapids.

The two-goal victory over the Huskies represented FSU's 12th victory of the year, which is the most in school history in a single campaign, and lifted FSU to 8-1-1 overall in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, guaranteeing the Bulldogs at least one of the top four seeds for the postseason conference tournament and the right to host a quarterfinal-round tilt.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring 18:32 into the opening half when senior forward Nicole Boehnke notched her team-leading seventh goal of the campaign. Her shot came on a header in front of the net off of a corner kick from Rachel Fouts, who earned the assist.

The 1-0 score stood up in the Bulldogs' favor until the 55th minute of the second half when junior Meredith Smith produced her fifth goal this season. She fired in a rebound shot on the backside for the goal aided by Carley Dubbert.

Soon after, the Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the 58th minute when a scramble in front of the net ensued and Fouts tallied her second goal of the year on a shot near the left side of the net.

Michigan Tech's lone goal came at 64:01 when Lexi Herrewig notched her 10th goal this year on a deep shot which bounced off the back post and into the net.

Both teams recorded 23 shots apiece in the outing with MTU holding a 15-11 edge in shots on goal.

However, FSU senior goalkeeper Maddie Haustein had a big outing again for the Bulldogs with 14 saves in 90 minutes of work. She improved to 12-3-1 overall this year as did Ferris State overall.

The Huskies' Jenna Phelps also played all 90 minutes and suffered the loss for Michigan Tech, which dropped to 7-5-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the GLIAC.

Senior forward Casey Shauman paced FSU with a team-high five shots while Smith and Boehnke both had four attempts apiece.

Finally, FSU held a 4-3 advantage in corner kick tries and the Bulldogs were called for nine fouls to six for the Huskies.

The win enabled the Bulldogs to bounce back from Friday's 1-0 overtime home setback to Northern Michigan, which had ended a school-record 12-match FSU unbeaten stretch dating back to the first weekend of the season in September.

Ferris State will next take the field on Sunday, Oct. 25, as the Bulldogs host the Ohio Dominican Panthers in a key conference match starting at 12 p.m. (ET) at the FSU Soccer Field. Ferris State then visits rival Grand Valley State on Oct. 30 as only two matches remain in the regular-season.

The GLIAC Tournament begins on Nov. 3 and FSU will host a postseason home contest for only the second time in school history and the first time since 2008.