Story, photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information
MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The Northern Michigan Universiry men's soccer team (6-2-2, 3-0-2 GLIAC) earned a victory on home field Friday against the Lions of Purdue Northwest to advance to the top of the GLIAC Conference standings.
After a scoreless first half, Sam Pilgrim kicked off the scoring for the Wildcats just 31 seconds into the second half, assisted by Noah Girard and Sergio Cano Castro. Marcos Gallardo Rozano tacked on another goal for the 'Cats in the 50th minute, assisted by Luca Rosen. The 'Cats walked away with a shutout win, 2-0, despite Purdue Northwest attempting 14 shots on goal
"Yeah, a big home win," added head coach Alex Fatovic when speaking to nmuwildcats.com post-game. "That's exactly what you want; you're back home, 2-0 win, character against a solid team. It took some time to break them down, but we got our goals early in the second half, and just managed the rest of the game really, really well. Individual performances across the board were fantastic."
"I think it was a really good day for us," added senior captain goalkeeper Asaf Kristal post-game. "A lot of positives across the board. This year we're on a mission. We're trying to do something big, and we're trying to win each game as they come. So I think it was a great performance from everybody. Great energy from the bench as well."
This win marked Kristal's 10th shutout, surpassing Alex Weaver (2020-22) to become the new record-holder for most career shutouts in program history. With this milestone, he joins his teammate, Luca Rosen, in the record books, who recently surpassed the record for most career goals.
"It feels amazing. This week, Coach Alex talked with us about the history of NMU, and to be able to write a little line in this amazing history of this place, it's a big honor for me, and I'm sure it is for Luca as well," Kristal said.
In addition to the goalkeeping by Kristal, Fatovic claims the defense was the reason for the team's success today. The 'Cats hope to carry their momentum forward into their next game this Sunday, Oct. 4th, where they'll host the Parkside Rangers.
"The defense] has really started to come together and we're really pleased with how they're doing. And now we've set ourselves up for a potential 6-point weekend on Sunday, so we just have to rest, recover and focus on the next game,"
"We try to be never too high, never too low. So we're going to be happy and celebrate today, and then tomorrow come back down to earth again, win the day, and hopefully we can get another three points at home [on Sunday]," Kristal adds.
The 'Cats totaled nine shots to the Lions' 14, and 12 fouls to the Lions' eight. Asaf Kristal, James Carl, Marcos Gallardo Rozano, Julius Lemm, Davian Gumbs, and Noah Girard all played the full 90 minutes of the game.
The 'Cats return to the field this Sunday, Oct. 4th, where they'll host the Parkside Rangers at the NMU Soccer Field with the opening kick scheduled for noon
