KENOSHA, Wisc. - The Northern Michigan University men's soccer team traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin to take on the Parkside Rangers, losing 1-0 thanks to a Ranger goal in the 80th minute.

The Wildcats generated numerous quality chances against the Rangers, who made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament last season, but were unable to convert on any of its five shots on target from 11 shot attempts. Both Isaac Ward and Logan Lazar were denied quality opportunities to score late in the second half, minutes before Parkside took the 1-0 advantage.

The Wildcats fall to 2-5-1 overall and 1-3 in the GLIAC, and the Rangers improve to 4-1-2 overall and 2-0-1 in the GLIAC.

Head Coach Alex Fatovic had this to say after the decision to Parkside:

"Absolutely gutted for the boys. They gave everything they had today and deserved more out of that match. I'm very proud of this group of guys despite the tough stretch we are in. We left Parkside with our heads up and ready for the next test. It's not going to get any easier, but I have full faith our boys will start turning these results in our favor."

Cat Nips

• Jan Hoffmann led the Wildcats with three shots, followed by Fernando Abascal and Finn van den Berg with two
• Goalkeeper Florian Palmowski made five saves on 18 shots faced
• Beyond the keeper, Kalvin GLodz, Niko Scheibal, and Finn van den Berg recorded ninety minutes
• As a team, the Wildcats recorded 11 shots to the Ranger's 18, including five on target to Parkside's seven
• The Rangers were awarded six corner kicks to the Wildcats one
• The Rangers committed 15 fouls to the Wildcats 12, along with two yellow cards to NMU's one
• The Wildcats were flagged for offsides six times. Parkside wasn't whistled once.

How It Happened
1st Half
The Wildcats had an opportunity early in the competition, as Fernando Abascal found himself wide open inside the 18-yard box, but as he went to shoot, the officials' flag came up for offsides and nullified the opportunity.

Minutes later, Abascal got another break as he cut through the Parkside defense and got a good flick with the left foot, beating the goalkeeper but sending the ball inches by the far post.

Just under ten minutes to go in the half, leading goal scorer Alejandro Martinez was all alone with Florian Palmowski from just outside the 6-yard box. Martinez got a good shot away, but Palmowski came out to cut the angle down and made a spectacular save to keep the game scoreless.

The Rangers led in shots 8-4, both teams were whistled for five fouls, and the Wildcats were flagged for five offsides to Parkside's zero.

2nd Half
Florian Palmowski bailed out the Wildcats early in the 2nd half, as the Rangers got a brilliant chance from just outside the box that was labeled for the upper ninety, but Palmowski fully extended with the left hand to deflect the ball above the bar.

Abascal got another opportunity to strike, as Jaziel Sainze de Vilmorin sent a cross into the box and Abascal went up with the header but deflected it into the chest of the keeper.

Isaac Ward had the best opportunity of the evening after he received a perfect through ball from Cian Tunney. Ward was one one-on-one with the keeper down the right side, got a great strike from just outside the keepers' box with his right boot, but the keeper miraculously got a hand on the ball to deflect it wide. 

Logan Lazar came off the bench and made an impact on the evening, and aided the Wildcats down the stretch. Lazar generated another quality opportunity, shortly after Ward's, in the final 15 minutes. Similar to Ward, Lazar similarly found himself all alone in about the same spot on the right side of the box. Lazar got a quality shot on target in effort to break the scoreless tie, but the keeper was up to the task once again.

Parkside broke the scoreless tie with just over 10 minutes left, as the Rangers fifth corner kick of the evening cashed in. A curling effort into the box found an unchecked Lars Popp, who used his head to redirect the ball into the back of the net. 

Up Next
The Wildcats remain on the road, traveling to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to take on non-conference opponent UW-Eau Claire on Thursday, September 28.