MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University men's soccer team will hit the road for the first round of the GLIAC playoffs, squaring off against the Davenport Panthers. 

The Wildcats (2-9-4 overall, 1-6-3 GLIAC) take on the Davenport Panthers (5-4-5 overall and 4-3-3 GLIAC) on Saturday at 7 PM. The winner will move on to the next round of GLIAC post season play.

Hear from Alex Fatovic:
"Davenport is tough… however, we tied them two weeks ago at their place with two additional starters out… if we can finish some chances that we create, then we're going to be in this game."

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Saturday, October 28th - vs. Davenport at 7 PM
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Cat Nips

• Nine Cats have at least one goal this season, including Jan Hoffmann (1g, 3a, 5pts) and Cian Tunney (2g, 1a, 5pts), who both lead the Wildcats with regular season points
• Fernando Abascal (16) leads the team with shots on goal, along with recording one goal and two assists
• Jan Hoffmann (1183), Keegan Schmidt (1169), Klavin Glodz (1150), Finn van den berg (1116), and Fernando Abascal (1111) had over 1000 minutes played in the regular season.
• Jan Hoffmann is fifth in the GLIAC for shots (32)
• Goalkeeper Bryce Beckley is first in the GLIAC for goals against (6), second for save percentage (0.813), and third for GAA (1.20)

A Look at Davenport
The Panthers come into the weekend 5-4-5 overall and 4-3-3 in the GLIAC, most recently defeating GLIAC opponent Purdue Northwest in a 2-1 decision to clinch home-field advantage for the opening round of the GLIAC playoffs. 

Forwards Vitalis Takawira Jr (4g, 3a, 11pts) and Andrew Dykstra (5g, 0a, 10pts) lead the Panthers in points for the regular season. Three goalkeepers shared the net this season with 55 saves, a GAA of 1.43, and an overall save percentage of 0.733, with goalkeeper Bobby Curran has been determined GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week twice over the course of the season.

The 'Cats have squared off with the Panthers twice this season, and have recorded points in both outings. The 'Cats first beat Davenport at the beginning of the year 1-0, made possible by Jaziel Sainz de Vilmorin scoring his first goal as a WIldcat. The 'Cats then drew 0-0 in Grand Rapids a mere two weeks ago, though the Panthers brought a different kind of intensity than previously seen in Marquette, and Bryce Beckley was challenged with 16 shot attempts and five saves.

The 'Cats and Panthers have matched-up relatively equally in the recent future, with maybe even a slight advantage, holding a 1-0-3 record in the last four meetings.

Last Week 
The Wildcats hosted St.Cloud State at home for the last regular season match of the year drawing a 2-2 decision against the Huskies on senior day. 

The Wildcats outshot the Huskies 22-10, including 11 shots on frame, but were unable to come away with three points. The Huskies were able to put the first goal in the net early in the second half, but Wildcat forward, senior Casey Miller, answered back with a nearly full bicycle kick to put a point on the board for NMU. In the final 10 minutes of the half, freshman Finn van den Berg scored with a header to create a 2-1 lead. The Huskies were able to tie the score in the 87th minute with a kick from the 50-yard line to end the match in a draw.