Houghton soccer ends long week with a win

Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette
Houghton’s Arobindo Ghosh (right) works the ball up the line against a Bayside-Esanaba player on Saturday at Alumni Field in Houghton.

By Eddie O’Neill

eoneill@mininggazette.com

HOUGHTON- It was a busy week for the Houghton Gremlins soccer team. They had four games in six days and a lot of time on the road. After a loss to Kingsford at home on Monday, they then travelled to Three Lakes, Wisconsin where they tied 2-2 with the Bluejays on Thursday. On Friday, they were in Kingsford for a loss (5-2), but they closed out the the week with a 2-0 shutout against Bayside -Escanaba at home on Saturday.

Houghton coach Mark Lounibos was obviously pleased with the win but added a caveat.

“It was not our best game, but it was also out third game in a row,” he stated. So, I will let them off the hook in that respect.”

It was a defensive battle for much of the first 20 minutes.

However, senior Grant Northey broke the ice at around the half way mark of the first half with a shot pithing the box that sneaked in for all net. It was a 1-0 lead for the Gremlins at half.

Northey was one of four seniors the Gremlins said goodbye to on senior day at Alumni Field. Joining him were teammates Joshua Bennett, Ian Hong and Yamato Tajiri. They along with their parents were honored at midfield before the start of the game.

According to their coach, they will be missed.

“Josh has been a vocal leader, defensive anchor and penalty taker,” Lounibos related. “Grant has been key for us as a midfield pivot and scoring threat. Ian has been a multi-position threat all season for us, and Yamato has been a chase-down artist on the defense for us all year.”

The second half was much the same with Houghton having a slight domination in terms of possession of the ball. It was again at around the 20-minute where the Gremlins added another goal. This time it was forward Ethan Heckel who drilled a penalty kick just outside the box up into Escanaba’s top-left corner.

The Gremlins (8-3-2)were able to keep up their defense and keep the Eskymos at bay for the remainder of the game.

Despite the loss, Escanaba coach Tony Carey was pleased with his team’s effort.

“We had a small squad today, but we fought hard,” he noted. “It was a good game. We kept our shape and played well.”

UP NEXT

The Gremlins will close out their season this week with games in Marquette on Thursday and at home on Saturday against Sault St. Marie at 2 p.m.