This story, photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information
'MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University men's soccer team dropped its GLIAC season opener, falling 3-1 to the UW-Parkside Rangers, Friday in Marquette.
In a fast paced first half, the Wildcats opened the scoring after Luca Rosen converted on a penalty kick just nine minutes into the contest. NMU had a pair of quality chances to extend the lead in the minutes to follow, highlighted by Rosen hitting the post, but it was Parkside that converted on a penalty kick of their own to tie the game. The half came to an end dramatically, as the Wildcats conceded an own goal with one second left, and the Rangers snuck away with a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
After the 'Cats had a ball cleared off the goal line to start the second half, Parkside found its third goal of the game just ten minutes into the half, extending the lead to two. The Wildcats had nine shots in the second half, including six in the final 10 minutes, but were unable to convert, and the game would end 3-1.
The Wildcats (1-1-3 overall, 0-1-0 GLIAC) dropped its first contest of the season, conceding three or more goals at home for the first time since August 31, 2023, and the first time against Parkside since a 4-0 loss in Kenosha during the 2022 season. The Rangers (1-2-1 overall, 1-0-0 GLIAC) found its first win of the season, and the first time in 15 games the team has scored three or more goals in one game, dating back to a 3-0 win over Saginaw Valley at the beginning of October last season.
Rosen scored the first goal of his Wildcat career, giving him a goal and an assist on the season. Rosen also led the field and posted a career-high nine shots, with five of those on target.
The Wildcats heavily outshot the Rangers, a 16-9 advantage with eight on target to four, and produced four corner kicks to one. The 'Cats also had possession 62% of the time, and when they did have possession, 64% of it was spent in the Ranger zone.
NMU was 0/3 on penalty kicks last season, and has now converted on its first chance of the season. The last time an NMU player scored a penalty kick was Cian Tunney on 10/13/2023 at Saginaw Valley.
Three players were shown yellow cards today: Parkside's Keven Sosa, and Northern's Andrea Mercanti and Quint Van Roij, both of their first offences of the season. Van Roij was initially shown a straight-red, but was rescinded to a yellow after VAR review.
