UP Gazette

The Northern Michigan University men's soccer team is preparing for two away matches in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) to finish out September. The Wildcats are looking to improve their record after a 3-1 home loss to Parkside last weekend, which brought their overall season tally to 1-1-3 and left them winless in conference play so far.

Following this defeat, NMU dropped out of the Midwest Regional rankings, where they had previously held the ninth spot. This weekend's schedule includes games against Purdue Northwest and Roosevelt. Roosevelt recently moved up to eighth place in the latest Midwest Region ranking.

Purdue Northwest comes into the match with an overall record of 1-4-1, while Roosevelt stands at 2-1-3. Last weekend, both teams played each other in Hammond, Indiana, ending in a 2-2 draw.

NMU head coach Alex Fatovic commented on the upcoming road trip: "Purdue is a tough place to play and Roosevelt is defending co-champions... any time you go on the road in the GLIAC, nothing is easy; you're away from home and you're out of your routine, so right now we're focusing on Purdue before we turn our attention to Roosevelt."

Statistically, NMU has been effective offensively this season. The Wildcats rank second in the GLIAC for shots per game at 12.80 and third for corner kicks per game at 4.80. They have taken more shots than their opponents (64 versus 47), with more shots on target (26 compared to 19), and have earned more corners (24 versus 16).

For individual performances, Teun Van Gansewinkel and Luca Rosen are tied for most shots taken in the conference with 16 each. Rosen ranks second in shots on target (9), while Van Gansewinkel is fourth (7). Van Gansewinkel leads NMU with two goals—one behind the conference leaders—and shares team assist honors with Rosen, Alessandro Scialanga, Davian Gumbs, and James Carr; all four players have one assist apiece.

Goalkeeper Asaf Krital has started his career strongly at NMU. Among GLIAC goalkeepers early this season, he ranks second for goals allowed (5), goals-against average (1.00), and shutouts (2); third for total saves (14); fourth for saves per game (2.80) and save percentage (.737). Alessandro Scialanga has played every minute of NMU's five matches so far.

Purdue Northwest currently sits fourth in the GLIAC standings ahead of this weekend’s fixtures. The Pride have scored nine goals—the second highest mark among conference teams—but have conceded fifteen times over six games, including three or more goals allowed in four contests. Hugo Lorenzo and Landon Potts lead Purdue’s offense with five points each from two goals and one assist apiece.

Roosevelt reached last year’s conference championship during its first Division II campaign and was picked as preseason favorites to finish second in this year’s GLIAC poll. Fynn Mewes leads Roosevelt statistically across several categories including goals scored (three) and points earned (seven). Noah Vasilev follows closely behind with two assists and six points total.

Goalkeeper Eric Carvajal tops several defensive metrics within the league: he leads all goalkeepers with thirty-one saves and a .816 save percentage.

Historically against these opponents, NMU trails Purdue Northwest over their past seven meetings but won most recently on October 24th, 2021 when playing away from home; meanwhile Roosevelt holds victories from both previous encounters between these programs.

Fans can follow updates via @NMU_Msoc on Instagram or @NMU_Mens_Soccer on X during both matches scheduled for Friday against Purdue Northwest at 2 p.m., followed by Sunday’s contest versus Roosevelt at 3:30 p.m.