CALEDONIA, Mich. - The Wildcats of Northern Michigan and Panthers of Davenport took to the pitch on a rainy afternoon in Caledonia, Michigan on Sunday. Each side struck early in the second half en route to a 1-1 draw in GLIAC competition. 

After a scoreless and wet first half, the second half began with the weather temporarily subsiding and the teams taking advantage. The host Panthers would score first in the 51st minute, but the Green and Gold had a response at 56' when Molly Pistorius scored for the 5th time this season. 

Despite heavily tilting the field at times and outshooting Davenport 17-6 with a 7-2 edge in shots on goal, the Wildcats settled for a 1-1 draw on the road. 

NMU is now 7-1-2 this season and remains in second place in the conference at 4-1-1. Davenport holds a 3-3-4 record with a mark of 2-1-3 in the GLIAC. 


First Half 
The first shot of the game came in the 11th minute from Wildcat Isabelle Brusilow. Rainy and wet conditions played a part in a slow start as each team struggled to muster much of a productive chance to score. 

Justina L'Esperance saw the best opportunity to date in the 22nd minute, but her shot attempt from atop the box was stopped by the goalkeeper to keep the game scoreless at the midway point of the first half.

Davenport got their first shot on goal in the closing 15 seconds of the half, and freshman Ava Wilberding came up with a big save in her first career start. Wilberding was able to track down the ball as it redirected off a deflection with two Panthers attackers crashing in. 

NMU led in shots 7-4 and shots on goal 3-1 in the scoreless first half. Davenport edged Northern with three corners to two. 


Second Half
As the second half began, the rainy conditions subsided and the sun began to peak through the clouds. 

Davenport struck first in the 51st minute when Natalia Casiello cut back left to get between NMU defenders and chipped a shot that found the bottom left corner for a 1-0 Panthers lead.

It didn't take long for the Green and Gold to answer, as in the 56th minute, Justina L'Esperance found Molly Pistorius on a crosser and she fired it into the netting to even the scoreboard.

The home team tried to close out NMU with two corner kicks in the closing five minutes, but NMU's defense stiffened to keep the Panthers off the board.  


A Look at the Stats
Freshman Molly Pistorius scored her 5th goal of the season. 

NMU outshot Davenport 17-6 throughout the contest and held an edge in shots on target, 7-2. 

The sides split corner kick opportunities with five apiece. 


Up Next
The Wildcats will host UP rival Michigan Tech on Friday, September 30 at 7 p.m. from inside the Superior Dome. The game will be aired locally on TV6.