MARQUETTE, Mich. — The Northern Michigan University women's soccer team will take on both the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Purdue University Northwest in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference (GLIAC) action at home this upcoming weekend.

The 'Cats will play the Rangers at 3 p.m. on Friday and face the Pride at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

WEEKLY NOTES

FOLLOW ALONG

Follow @NMU_Wildcats on Twitter for continued coverage throughout the week.Fans can follow the action using live stats and video.

Friday VS. Parkside

Live Stats: https://nmuwildcats.com/sports/wsoc/2021-22/boxscores/20211008_s23h.xml 

Video: https://nmuwildcats.com/links/0j1o2m 

Sunday VS. Purdue Northwest

Live Stats: https://nmuwildcats.com/sports/wsoc/2021-22/boxscores/20211010_w1q9.xml 

Video: https://nmuwildcats.com/links/0j1o2m 

PRESEASON POLL

The Wildcats, coming off a GLIAC Championship match appearance, came in third in the GLIAC Preseason Poll. They notched 49 points and finished five points ahead of Michigan Tech.

KEY RETURNERS

Senior Caroline Halonen, the 2021 GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year and All-GLIAC First Team honoree, returns to the Wildcats attack. Last season the midfielder was ranked in the top ten in NCAA Division II in several statistic categories. She was second in NCAA Division II in goals (11), fourth in total points (23), and seventh in goals per game (.92).

Sophomore Brooke Pietila is also back for NMU after a season that earned her All-GLIAC Honorable Mention honors. 

Goalkeeper Shenae Kreps returns to the goal for her senior season. Kreps was in net for all eight Wildcat wins and had 27 saves and a .643 save percentage in her first season in Marquette.

STAT LEADERS

Two women's soccer student-athletes have secured their spots in the GLIAC rankings. 

Senior goalkeeper Shenae Kreps is currently second in the conference for total number of saves with 39 total.

Midfielder Caroline Halonen still holds first place in the GLIAC for total number of shots so far this season (43).

LAST TIME OUT

The Wildcats fell to Michigan Technological University this past weekend in Houghton, 0-2. 

Northern outshot the Huskies 16-2 in the match. Upperclassmen Isabela Cardoso led NMU with four shots. Four other Wildcats also contributed shots in the match.

After a hard-played match by both teams, the Huskies came back to score two goals in the second half to secure the win.

NMU VS PARKSIDE

The last meeting between the Wildcats and Rangers was in 2021 when the 'Cats won 3-2. The two teams have met 9 times previously. 

NMU VS PURDUE NORTHWEST

Northern Michigan has an all-time series record of 5-1 over Purdue Northwest. The last match was a win for the Wildcats with a score of 6-0 during the 2020-2021 season.