UP Gazette

The Northern Michigan Wildcats men's soccer team is set to host Purdue Northwest in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament on Sunday, November 9. The Wildcats secured the third seed in the tournament, trailing only Saginaw and Roosevelt. This marks the second time in program history that NMU will host a first-round tournament match in Marquette, and the first time it will be played on their home pitch.

The Wildcats ended their regular season with a record of 7-4-5 overall and 6-4-2 in conference play. Last weekend, they achieved victories over Roosevelt (2-1) and Purdue Northwest (3-0), which contributed to their highest regular-season finish ever at third place in the GLIAC standings. Six seniors were honored during Sunday's senior day celebrations.

Sophomore Ian Weimer was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance last weekend. "Weimer scored the huge game-winning goal to slide past Roosevelt. This win put the Lakers' hopes of being back-to-back GLIAC Regular Season champions to rest. He also contributed one of the three goals in the win over the Pride on Sunday."

Weimer is currently second on the team for goals (4), points (9), and game-winning goals (2), behind Luca Rosen, who leads with nine goals, two assists, and four game-winning goals this season. In conference play, Rosen leads all players in shots (75) and shots on goal (31), while ranking second for goals scored (9). Nationally, Rosen averages 4.69 shots per game.

Goalkeeper Asaf Kristal has recorded 85 saves and seven shutouts this season, leading both categories within the conference. Kristal has played nearly every minute for NMU this year and has been instrumental to their defensive success.

Overall, NMU has scored 18 goals compared to opponents' 14, averaging 1.13 goals per game with three successful penalty kicks and 15 assists.

Purdue Northwest enters as the sixth seed with a record of 3-12-2 overall and 2-8-2 in conference play. The Pride have accumulated 16 points this season against opponents' combined total of 30 points. Rami Zantout ranks fourth in shots on goal within the conference (22) and tenth for goals scored (4). Landon Potts has contributed five goals and two assists for a total of 12 points. Goalkeeper Mateus Baptista de Souza holds a save percentage of .594 with 41 saves over more than 1,300 minutes played.

Fans can follow updates via @NMU_Msoc on Instagram or @NMU_Mens_Soccer on X (formerly Twitter).

"Sunday, November 9 - vs. Purdue Northwest at 1:00 p.m.

Watch | Live Stats"