MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan men's soccer team returns home this weekend to face St. Cloud State University on Friday and Upper Iowa University on Sunday.
The Wildcats will play the Huskies at 2:30 p.m. on Friday and take the field again at 2 p.m. on Sunday to face the Peacocks.
WEEKLY NOTES:
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow the action using live stats and video.
Follow @NMU_Wildcats on Twitter for continued coverage throughout the week.
Friday VS. St. Cloud State
Live:
https://nmuwildcats.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
Video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/nmu/
Sunday VS. Upper Iowa
Live Stats:
https://nmuwildcats.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
Video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/nmu/
PRESEASON POLL
After reaching the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) quarterfinals last spring, the Wildcats were pegged to finish fifth overall in the GLIAC preseason poll.
KEY RETURNERS
The Wildcats return the majority of their squad from 2020-21, including four who received All-GLIAC recognition.
Senior
Kaffie Kurz was named to the All-Conference First Team last season, the first such honor of his career, while also being named 2021 Humanitarian of the Year by NMU for his leadership and charitable endeavors both on and off the pitch.
Second-Team honorees
Ryan Palmbaum and
Niko Scheibal also return to the team this season. Palmbaum led the team in assists (4), shots on goal (15) and goals (3; tied) while Scheibal returns after leading a strong defensive corp in the spring.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats found success over the weekend with a win against Purdue Northwest with a 1-0 final score. This is the second win over the Pride for the 'Cats this season.
The only goal of the game was scored by freshman
Noah Eklund, with an assist by forward
Cian Tunney.
In the goal was
Alex Weaver, saving all 7 shots in the match.
STAT LEADERS
Junior
Ryan Palmbaum holds his spot in conference rankings at second place for number of shots, with a total of 48.
WILDCAT TALK
"
Noah Eklund set the tone early on at Purdue Northwest with his goal," said head coach
David Poggi. "Right now it's about three points. When you score first, knowing the three points are what you looking for, it reaffirms what you talk about and work for during training."
"We have three matches left and are focusing on this first upcoming match and finishing as strong as we can. Our future opponents are good but so are we. We are starting to believe that despite what a record might show. We are in decent shape going into the weekend," concluded the head coach.
NMU VS ST. CLOUD
The 'Cats took on the Huskies earlier this year for the first time with a 3-1 loss in the match.
NMU VS UPPER IOWA
Northern Michigan and Upper Iowa have a record of 3-1 over their 4 total meetings. The last match between the two was in the first week of October, resulting in a 1-3 loss for the Wildcats.
