HOUGHTON, Mich. -- The Parkside Women's soccer team opened GLIAC Tournament play this afternoon at Michigan Tech. The Rangers went down a goal in the first half, but two heroic last minute goals proved to be the difference as the No. 6 seeded Rangers downed the No. 3 seeded Huskies. The win marks the first ever GLIAC Tournament victory for the Rangers since entering the conference back in 2018.
"I am incredibly proud of the effort and belief our team showed today. We were down a goal for a long time and even though I felt we dominated the second half we still weren't scoring. So for the team to keep pushing, keep believing in themselves enough to get not one but two late goals was amazing. Tech is a tough team and made it a difficult game but we came out on top and we aren't done yet," said head coach
Brittany Nikolic after the historic victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Alexis Baker scores her 7th goal of the season.
- Kate Brown scores her first career playoff goal and second game winning goal of the season.
- Emily Mikkelson showed off her ability to distribute the ball, notching assists on both of the Ranger goals this afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rangers and Huskies battled toe to toe in the first half until a free kick was conceded by the Rangers at the top of the 18-yard box. The Huskies converted the free kick in the 20th minute of play to push themselves ahead 1-0. The scoreline would remain the same entering halftime.
The Rangers searched for the equalizer in the second half and displayed their grit scoring the game tying goal in the 85th minute. A corner kick by
Emily Mikkelson was served into the box and
Alexis Baker nodded it home to knot up the score with just five minutes remaining.
The late game heroics weren't finished yet. With just a mere two minutes and change remaining the Rangers broke into an offensive counter attack. Once again
Emily Mikkelson found the ball at her feet and slotted a ball across to the feet of
Kate Brown who was able to heroically score to put the Rangers on top with just mere minutes remaining in the match.
The Rangers will advance to the semi-finals of the GLIAC tournament and will play the at Northern Michigan on Friday with a time and team to be determined.
