Alex Fatovic Head Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics Website
Alex Fatovic Head Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics Website
The Northern Michigan University men's soccer team was narrowly defeated 1-0 by the Roosevelt Lakers, the defending GLIAC champions, in a physical match played in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The Wildcats' record now stands at 2-2-3 overall and 1-2-0 in conference play.
The game saw both teams combine for 37 fouls and eight yellow cards, with seven cautions going to NMU players. This marks the most yellow cards issued to the Wildcats in a single game since last season's finale.
Head coach Alex Fatovic expressed pride in his team's effort despite the result. "I'm extremely proud of the guys today, another amazing performance and hard-fought battle against the reigning GLIAC champions and a ranked regional opponent. We had to adjust with our captain [Alessandro Scialanga] going down 10 minutes in, and then his replacement, Jan Hoffmann, another senior leader, also goes down, and through all that adjusting, our back line didn't miss a beat.
"The guys are rightly frustrated [with the result], but the passion, fight, and spirit [with this group] is something I have never seen with this club. The guys are really fighting for each other, and it's amazing to be apart of."
Nine of NMU's starting eleven played at least 78 minutes. Five players—Asaf Kristal, Terry Grimaldi, Quint Van Roij, Teun Van Gansewinkel, and Owen Rutledge—played the entire match. Ian Weimer and Isaac Cervantes contributed significant time off the bench.
Fatovic commented on his team's attacking efforts: "At the end of the game we were still pushing to create chances, but we're walking away with zero [points], so the message is that we have to score on our chances... But at the end of the day, extremely proud of the guys, huge efforts across the board all weekend. Fortunately we have a week before our next match, and we will rest and recover."
Roosevelt scored what proved to be the only goal with fifty seconds left in the first half when Fernandez executed a bicycle kick after a throw-in. The Lakers registered nine shots (four on target), while NMU finished with eight shots (two on target). The Wildcats held an edge in corner kicks (5-4) but trailed slightly in possession (48% compared to Roosevelt's 52%).
NMU will return to action next Sunday when they travel to St. Cloud State for their next GLIAC matchup.
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