MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Wildcats welcomed No. 5 Saginaw Valley State to town for a high-profile GLIAC matchup on Friday. In what was a competitive effort from the start, the Cardinals scored in the closing minute, making  for a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat for NMU. 

The Wildcats are now 3-4-2 and 2-2-1 in the conference. 

A scoreless first half was reflected well into the second stanza, but the Cardinals captialized on an opportunity in front of the net at 89:22 for a 1-0 win over the Wildcats. 

"Absolutely heartbroken for our boys today," Coach Fatovic said after the game. " They put in a top-level shift today against one of the best teams in the country and proved again we can play with the best. Saginaw State is very good and showed why they deserve their top-5 ranking. However, in a match where we pulled all the right levers today to make things difficult and to create enough chances to win, we again are on the wrong side of a very tough lesson. We know moving forward, nobody is going to want to play Northern Michigan, so now it's time to take advantage of 9 days between matches, get healthy, and get ready for another top 25 opponent in Parkside."


First Half
Throughout much of the start to the half, neither team could put together a productive opportunity. 

Saginaw Valley started to find some chances, with a free kick near the box at the 37th minute. Alex Weaver made a highlight diving save right before the goalline to keep the Cardinals off the board. 

The Wildcats' competitive and gritty play kept the game scoreless at the half against No. 5 SVSU. The Cardinals led in shots 5-2 and corner kicks 1-0. Alex Weaver stopped both shots sent in his direction. 



Second Half
Keegan Schmidt had a nice window in the 62nd minute from just outside the box, but his left-footed attempt sailed left of the goal. The game remained scoreless with less than 30 minutes of action left. 

The 'Cats saw the best chance for either side just a few minutes later with a 3-on-1 opportunity, but they were unable to produce a shot as the ball, defenders, and goalkeeper collapsed in front of a congested net. 

In what looked like it was headed for a scoreless draw, the game turned in the final minute as SVSU's Chidie Nnolim had daylight in front of the net and scored the game-winning score. 

The final minute goal sunk NMU 1-0 in a heartbreaking defeat. 



A Look at the Stats

NMU was outshot 8-6 and 3-2 in shots on goal. Uriarte and Lami had the shots on goal for the Wildcats. 

Northern had just one corner kick on the day to Saginaw's four. 



Up Next
The Wildcats will host Parkside next Sunday, October 2nd in a home GLIAC matchup.