MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University women's soccer team hits the road for the third, and final, weekend in a row to take on the Purdue Northwest Pride and the Parkside Rangers, closing out its regular season road trips.

The 'Cats have remained nationally ranked for the sixth straight week, most in program history, coming in at no. 14 in the nation across D2 soccer, per United Soccer Coaches. 

The Wildcats (9-1-3 overall, 5-1-3 GLIAC) will square off against the Pride (2-9-2 overall, 0-8-1 GLIAC) on Friday, October 20, at 1 p.m., followed by the match against the Rangers (5-5-2 overall, 2-5-2 GLIAC) on Sunday, October 22, at 1 p.m.

These are important league games for the 'Cats, as the Wildcats currently sit second on the GLIAC table with 18 points, one point back of first-place Saginaw Valley. Parkside sits sixth on the table with eight points, and Purdue is currently last with one point. 

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Friday, October 20 - vs. Purdue Northwest at 1:00 PM
Live Stats | Watch on JedTV

Sunday, October 22 - vs. Parkside at 1:00 PM
Live Stats | Watch on FloFC

Hear From Head Coach Jon Sandoval
"These teams are very dangerous, and they don't quit… We've got to make sure we put Friday away against a very organized and tough Purdue Northwest team… Its important that we stay focused, and remember that its a business trip."

Cat Nips

• Molly Pistorius continues to be at the top of the GLIAC goal totals with her nine tallies and 21 points. Across the conference, Molly is the only student-athlete with multiple hat-tricks (2), she is second in shots (45) and game winning goals (3).
• Forward Hannah Kastamo continues to make waves in her sophomore season, as she is third in the GLIAC in points (13), T3 in goals (5), and T4 in assists (3). 
• Brenna Musser also continues to lead the Wildcats with four assists, and is T2 across the GLIAC.
• Goalkeeper Jillian Thompson sits first across the GLIAC in shutouts with eight, good for T7 nationally. Across the GLIAC, Thompson also is leading the standings in wins (8) and in minutes played with 1,170.
• Gwen Kiilunen remains to be the only Wildcat who has played almost all 1,170 minutes through the first 13 matches; she currently stands at 1,164. Maria Storm and Isabelle Brusilow follow behind in terms of time played, with 1,127 and 1,098 respectively.
• As a team, the Wildcats have outscored its opponents 25-7 and outshot its opponents 220-73. The Wildcats lead the GLIAC in total goals scored (25), shots (220), and shutouts (8), and second in assists (19).

A Look at Purdue Northwest
The Rangers have been on a skid over the past few weeks, going 0-5 in its last five matches, and being out-scored 14-2 in that frame. Kaci Pampreen leads the Pride in goals (4) and points (10), but hasn't scored since she put two up against both Governors St. and Concordia back in week one. Pampreen did assist on Lauryn Tilmon's second goal of the season against Saginaw Valley last weekend, her first point since 8/31/2023.

The Wildcats took care of business in Marquette when they squared off against the Pride on 9/17/23, winning the match by a decision of 3-0. The 'Cats match up well historically against the Pride as well; you would have to go back to 2018 to find the last time the Wildcats lost, and then a year forward to 2019 to find the last time the 'Cats conceded a goal against the Pride.

A Look at Parkside
The Rangers come into the weekend on a two game losing streak before matchups against Michigan Tech on Friday and the Wildcats on Sunday. Alexis Baker leads the Rangers inthe goal department with four, and she has proven to be streaky in her scoring; she scored twice in her first two games, then twice against PNW on 10/6/23. Emily Mikkelson is second on the team in scoring with three goals, her most recent coming in the Rangers' most recent loss to Ferris State.

You would have to go back to 2019 to find a game when the Wildcats weren't able to get at least a point from the Rangers, as the Wildcats are on a seven-game unbeaten streak against Parkside. Most recently, the Rangers came to Marquette and forced a 1-1 draw against the Wildcats on 9/15 of this year. The last time the Wildcats visited the Rangers, the green and gold put up an impressive 7-1 victory on 9/9/2022.

Last Week
The Wildcats traveled to Grand Rapids to take on Davenport University and no. 9 Grand Valley State, coming out of both games with two more wins for their record.

Molly Pistorius and Brooke Pietila led the 'Cats in the match against the Panthers, with each registering a goal. Pistorious made the most shots and shots on goal with three a piece. Goalkeeper Jillian Thompson recorded two saves, putting her at 19 this season. 

Angelina Perritano scored the lone goal for the 'Cats in the match against the Lakers, while Brenna Musser recorded the most shots with two. Goalkeeper Jillian Thompson recorded three saves during this game, ending the weekend with a grand total of 24 this season.