MARQUETTE, Michigan – The Northern Michigan University men’s soccer team prepares for its final weekend of regular conference play with vital road games against the Pride of Purdue Northwest and the Rangers of Parkside.
Friday’s game against Purdue NW will likely decide which team makes the postseason as the Wildcats and Pride battle for the final GLIAC tournament. The Pride enter the weekend in 6th place in the conference with 8 points and NMU enters the weekend in 7th place with 7 points.
NMU owns an 8-6-1 record against Purdue and went 3-5 against the Pride on the road.
With a win on Friday, NMU will look to secure its spot in the GLIAC Tournament in its matchup with Parkside on Sunday. NMU went 1-3-1 against Parkside on the road.
In the event of a tie on Friday, the Wildcats are not statistically out for the season; Sunday becomes a must-win game and Purdue must lose or tie.
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Friday, November 1 – vs. Purdue Northwest at 3 p.m
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Sunday, November 3 – against Roosevelt at 2:30 p.m
Clock | Live statistics
Hear from Alex Fatovic
“The guys know it’s all still in front of us and I think that’s the approach they’re going to take… If we win this game, then we’re in control of our own destiny.”
Cat Nips
- Tommaso Lami and Alessandro Scialanga leads the Wildcats in points (9). Lami had four goals and one assist, while Scialnaga had three goals and three assists.
- Lami enters the weekend ranked 2nd in the conference and 32nd in the nation in hits (41, 2.93/G). Lami currently ranks 3rd in the conference in SOG (20, 1.43/G).
- Scialanga and Teun Van Gansewinkel enters the weekend tied for 6th in strikeouts (31, 2.21/G). Van Gansewinkel is 5th in the conference in SOG (17, 1.21/G).
- Nils Cedergren is currently tied for 3rd in the conference and is 39th in the nation in shutouts (4).
- NMU is 1st in the conference and 31st in the nation in hitting (204, 14.57/game) and 1st in the conference in SOG (82, 5.86/G).
- NMU is No. 1 in the conference and No. 17 nationally in corner kicks (86, 6.14/G).
A look at Purdue Northwest
The Pride are currently 6th in the conference with records of 2-6-2 in conference play and 5-7-2 overall.
The Pride’s offense is led by Jacob Battista and Christian Booth. Battista earned 14 points with five goals and four assists, while Booth earned 12 points with five goals and two assists.
Goalie Tomas Rozman recorded 18 goals allowed and 40 saves with a .690 save percentage.
Last against Purdue Northwest
The Wildcats last game against the Pride ended in a 3-1 decision at home.
The Wildcats outshot the Pride 17(9) to 10(5). NMU dominated Purdue Northwest’s defensive zone, winning seven corner kicks while allowing just one corner kick to Purdue NW.
Purdue NW got the first point on the board with a goal by Rami Hassan Zantout in the 26th minute.
NMU took the lead back in the second half with back-to-back goals from Tommaso Lami in the 62nd minute and William Uchenna in the 63rd minute.
A third and final goal from Davian Gumbs in the 72nd minute secured the win for the Wildcats, followed by a red card against Flavio Nardecchia that left the Pride a man down for the remainder of the competition.
A look at Parkside
The Rangers are currently ranked 5th in the conference with records of 4-4-2 in conference play and 6-5-3 overall. The Rangers trail the Wildcats in shots with 183(81).
The Rangers attack is controlled by Chris Estrada, Jules Peycelon, Paco Piscaglia and Matteo Quintero, all with 9 points.
Goalkeeper Daniyal Rana is 2nd in the conference with a GAA of 1,083. Rana is currently 1st in the conference with 5 shutouts.
Last against Parkside
The Wildcats fell at home to the Rangers 0-1.
The Wildcats outshot the Rangers 23(6)-10(6) and corner kicks 8-1, but failed to produce a goal.
Senior defender Mario Bolado found the back of the net scoring the only goal of the game in the 19th minute.
An early red card against William Uchenna down the Wildcats a man for most of the contest.
A red card against Parkside’s Eduardo Perez in the 75th minute leveled the game, but the Wildcats were unable to capitalize.
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