For the first time in five years, Ferris soccer lost back-to-back games.
Since 2016, the Bulldogs have not had a two game losing streak. With just two regular season games left, they now find themselves heading into the remainder of the season on a two game skid.
The Bulldogs lost at Michigan Tech Sunday, Oct. 24 and again at home against Northwood Friday, Oct. 29. The losing streak knocked their record to 11-3-2 (8-2-2 GLIAC).
Ferris had plenty of chances to tie the game against Northwood. They sent a barrage of shots towards the goal at the end of regulation, but fell victim to the upset loss 1-0.
The late October matchup brought on the cold autumn weather, gracing the fans and players with chilly winds and rain throughout most of the contest. Even with the less-than-ideal conditions, the Bulldogs kept up their aggressive offense.
While the team won the day with both shots (20-5) and shots on goal (12-3), Northwood chose quality over quantity to get the ball in the back of the net. Junior Juliana Paoletti garnered the game winning goal halfway through the first half at 22:34.
Coach Greg Henson gave his thoughts on the team’s performance after letting in the goal.
“Just one of those games where we struggled to score, and find the back of the net,” Henson said. “They were able to capitalize on a mistake in the first half, and that ended up being the game winning goal.”
This is not the first time that the Bulldogs have dropped a game where they have controlled the tempo. Ferris outshot Michigan Tech 17-10 in the 1-0 loss last week. They also dominated shots in the first game of the season against Findlay 30-8, but lost that game as well.
“I thought we had the better run of play, but didn’t score goals,” Henson said. “We got to finish our chances to keep us out of these situations.”
One of the team’s top goal scorers, senior forward Pia Nagel, led Ferris in shots with five. On her heels was senior Grace VerHage, who sent in four shots.
Freshman keeper Darya Mossalaei was able to stop 2 shots on goal. Northwood’s keeper Andre Everett stayed strong through the 12 shots that she faced, picking up her first shutout of the year.
The Bulldogs will travel south to kick off the last weekend of GLIAC play against the Davenport Panthers Friday, November 5. They will hope to work out the kinks before they take on the #1 team in the nation Grand Valley to close the regular season.