UP Gazette

The Northern Michigan University women's and men's soccer teams will hold a Community Day event on August 22 in Marquette. The women's team is scheduled to play against UW-Stevens Point at 2 p.m., followed by the men's team facing Green Bay at 5 p.m. Both matches will take place after recent upgrades to the soccer field and stadium.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for 1 p.m. to officially recognize enhancements to the facility, including a new main entrance modeled after an ore dock, NMU-branded fencing, a modern speaker system, and new goals. Fans will be allowed into the spectator area once the ribbon is cut.

Head coach Alex Fatovic commented on the significance of the event: "I think the community should come out because it's a community day for all of the soccer players and fans in Marquette," says head coach Alex Fatovic, who enters his fourth season with the Wildcats after guiding the 'Cats to the most single-season wins since 2019. "Whether they're girl's players, boy's players, men's players, women's players, we have a huge soccer community in Marquette. There's a barbecue, there's a tailgate in the lot, two games back-to-back, and we play a division one opponent in Green Bay."

Erin Egolf, head coach of the women's team, shared her perspective ahead of her first match as head coach: "The excitement will be real. If we can't get up for Friday, I don't know what we're doing," says head coach Erin Egolf, who will embark on her first game behind the bench on the outdoor pitch. "We're going to have a lot of fans at the match and the men play after us, so it should be a great day for soccer. I'm excited for our girls... for us being so new, I think it will be really healthy for [our team]. For everyone to get some minutes under their belt early, see what the level is like, and what the expectation is, I think that will be really helpful."

Additional activities include a sponsored tailgate and barbecue hosted by Marquette United and SSA in parking lot 55. Young local players are invited to walk onto the field with athletes during starting lineups. After completion of the women’s game and before kickoff of men’s match—around 4 p.m.—both teams plan to pose together for group photos.

The full schedules for both teams' upcoming seasons are available online.