MARQUETTE, Mich. - The GLIAC-leading NMU women's soccer team heads downstate for a crucial road trip against Ferris State and Davenport.

Holding a conference record of 5-1-1, the Wildcats are atop the GLIAC table with 16 points, ahead of Grand Valley by two points. 

More importantly for the weekend, the Bulldogs are only one win behind tying the 'Cats in GLIAC points, and hold an impressive  4-1-1 GLIAC record themselves. The Bulldogs only loss in those six games? A 3-0 defeat from the hands of the Wildcats.

"Ferris is a very quality team who just got a [2-1 win] on the road at Purdue Northwest, and they've got good weapons in their attacking and how they build out," said head coach Jon Sandoval in his mid-week press conference. "They're 100% going to be ready, and we have to make sure we're prepared."

After the stop in Big Rapids, the Wildcats head south to Grand Rapids for a clash against Davenport on Sunday, who heading into the weekend on a five game unbeaten streak and are fifth in the GLIAC with nine points. A match that the team won't be taking lightly, but something Sandoval says is a distant thought ahead of the trip.

"We have to fully focus on Friday's match first before we get to Davenport. There's enough positive things to say about Davenport in general, but it's something we'll look towards after Friday."

Follow Along
Follow @NMU_wsoccer and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the games.

Friday, October 18 - at Ferris State at 1:00 p.m. ET 
Watch on FloFC | Live Stats 

Friday, October 20 - at Davenport at 2:00 p.m. ET 
Watch on FloFC | Live Stats 

Hear from Jon Sandoval

Cat Nips

• The Wildcats are on a six-game unbeaten streak, recording five shutouts and out-scoring the opposition 17-1 in that frame
• The 'Cats are a top-20 team in the nation in assists per game (8th, 2.27), total assists (9th, 25), points per game (15th, 7.36), total points (16th, 81), and total goals (19th, 28)
• Sally Patton is ninth in the nation in goals against average (0.353). Likewise, her save percentage is 18th (0.885), and her five shutouts are 19th
• The most adept offensive player in the GLIAC, Justina L'Esperance is first in the conference in goals (6), assists (5) and assists per game (0.45), points (17) and points per game (1.55), and shots on goal per game (1.82) and shots per game (3.64)
• Brooke Pietila is second in the conference in points, and third in both goals and assists. Pietila's 85 games played is the fourth-most among active Division 2 women's soccer players
• The Wildcats are 5-0-1 against the Bulldogs in its last six meetings and are out-scoring Ferris 13-3 in that frame
• NMU is 6-0-1 in its previous seven matchups against Davenport, out-scoring the Panthers 20-4 in that frame, including four consecutive shutouts. Davenport has not scored against the Wildcats since 9/25/22, a 1-1 draw.

A Look at Ferris
The Bulldogs play host to the two Upper Peninsula teams over the weekend, firstly the Wildcats on Friday before the Huskies on Sunday with a 4-1-1 conference record and only three points back of NMU.

Katherine Welch (3-4--10), Haley Buckman (4-0--8), and Brinley Bell (1-4--6) lead the Bulldogs on the offensive. Welch has two goals and an assist in her last two games, Buckman is averaging half a goal per game in her last six, and Bell found the back of the net for the first time his season in her previous game. 

The second-highest scoring offense in the GLIAC, the Bulldogs are second in points and points per game, goals, and third in assists and total assists.

A Look at Davenport
The Panthers are on a hot streak of its own, as they are 2-0-3 in the last five matchups, including a 1-0 win vs then no. 2 Grand Valley State.

The Panthers are led on the offensive by reigning GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week Haley Diekevers, who has four goals and two assists in 11 games. Diekevers started the year with six points in five games but didn't record a single point in five straight games until her two goals against Roosevelt.