UP Gazette

The Northern Michigan Wildcats men's soccer team achieved a notable 1-0 victory over the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals, ranked No. 17 nationally, at NMU Soccer Field in Marquette on Friday. This win marks only the second time in program history that the Wildcats have defeated SVSU and is their first home victory against the Cardinals.

Head coach Alex Fatovic said after the match, "It doesn't get any better than that. We've been getting better each year, and that's the win we've been looking for. It's a big win against a big team at home, using [our familiar field and playing conditions] to our advantage, and we became a force today."

The game’s lone goal came from Luca Rosen, who now leads the Wildcats in goals scored this season. Rosen has netted four goals in five games and three game-winners in his last four matches. Reflecting on his recent form, Rosen stated, "In training we've worked on a lot of shooting, which has really helped me. I was on a bit of a goal drought to start the season, but since the GLIAC started, it's switched on. Everything's falling for me [right now], and it's been perfect."

Coach Fatovic also commented on Rosen’s performance: "As soon as he got it on his left foot, I knew it was a goal. He's been getting better at training each week, and he's our goal scorer… We just have to keep feeding him those opportunities because we know he can finish."

The match saw Northern Michigan reduced to ten men after Tyler Kowalczyk received a red card following video review in the 55th minute. Despite being outshot 19-2 and conceding six corner kicks while playing shorthanded for over half an hour, Fatovic expressed pride in his team's resilience: "We knew we were going to be under [pressure] for the next 35 minutes, and man did they play strong. So proud of the team.. Really nice team win, and sets us up nicely for Sunday."

Goalkeeper Asaf Kristal made twelve saves—his highest single-game total this season—to record his fifth shutout of the year. The Wildcats have now kept three clean sheets in their last four matches while conceding only one goal during that stretch.

Fatovic praised Kristal's efforts: "[He was] unbelievable, again. If your number ten and your number one can have good games and be productive in both ends of the field in the goal box, then you're going to win a game. Two massive saves in the last couple of minutes to keep us under… At some point you are going to give up crosses, and for him to come up big like that was huge… Another shutout, another win, couldn't be more proud of his efforts today."

Other notable contributions came from James Carr, Terry Grimaldi, Quint Van Roij, Andrea Mercanti—each playing full matches—and Owen Rutledge who played most of the contest.

Northern Michigan will conclude its weekend homestand with a match against Davenport University at noon on Sunday at NMU Soccer Field.