Box Score ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Northern Michigan University men's soccer team took its first loss of the season after conceding a late goal in a hard-fought battle against St. Cloud State. 

The Huskies struck first, finding the back of the net within the first 10 minutes of the match. But the Wildcats had an answer. 

Coming out with determination early in the second half, Alessandro Scialanga found the back of the net once again for the 'Cats, giving his side renewed energy from there on out. 

Despite the 'Cats playing from the front foot for the majority of the second half and the full 90 minutes, the Huskies got the bounce they needed in the 84th minute, delivering a heartbreaking goal to win the game. 

The Wildcats suffer its first loss of the season, moving to 3-1-1 overall and 0-1-0 in GLIAC play, and now look to next weekend with two home matches that start a streak of four in a row in Marquette.

Cat Nips

• Sophomore defender Alessandro Scialanga continued his impressive play of late, tallying the equalizer in the second half to give him three goals in two games and eight points on the season (3-2--8)
• Nils Cedergren had a strong game between the pipes, making five saves from seven on target
• James Carr, Finn van den Berg, Quinn Van Roij, Xhoel Lutaj, and Scialanga all played the full 90 minutes 
• Logan Lazar and Davian Gumbs came off the bench for the Wildcats and recorded 59 and 53 minutes, respectively
• The Huskies outshot the Wildcats 13-7, with seven on target to NMU's four
• The Wildcats held an advantage in corner kicks 5-4, and committed one less foul than the Huskies

How It Happened
The reigning GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week, Philip Caputo, opened the scoring just 10 minutes into the game. Caputo received a pass from Andrew Holmes that split the Wildcat defenders down the right side and sprung the striker toward goal. Caputo fired with his right foot low and across the body of an outstretched Cedergren into the bottom left corner, and the 'Cats were down early.

Despite the Wildcats conceding early in the half, the 'Cats had plenty of offensive chances of their own, registering three corner kicks and a majority of the offensive pressure within the first 20 minutes.

The Huskies got their first set-piece opportunity of the evening from a corner kick with just over 10 minutes to play in the half. The Huskies delivered an out-swinging ball into the box, but Cedergen held his line to deny the opportunity for another Husky goal with the biggest save of the first half. 

The 'Cats had the upper hand towards the end of the half, capped off with a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box with less than three minutes remaining. The service from Scialanga took a deflection and found the foot of Jan Hoffmann, but the strike wasn't enough to find the back of the net.  

At halftime, the Huskies were up by one, having had two shots on goal and one save. The Wildcats had their fair share of offensive opportunities with three corners, but were only able to get one shot on frame. The offensive grit from both teams did not go unnoticed, as the Wildcats were rewarded with six free kicks and the Huskies with three. 

The Wildcats came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders offensively, earning a handful of free kicks and an early chance from Davian Gumbs, who's header found the keepers chest. Not one minute later, Hoffmann played a perfect swinging pass to switch the field and find Scialanga, who made one touch before firing home a screamer with the left foot into the bottom right corner, giving the sophomore defender his third goal in two games.

NMU continued to keep the pressure against the Huskies. In the 67th minute, Hoffmann ripped a shot at the goal, but the Huskies keeper came out with a save. Unable to corral the hit, (meh)  Teun Van Gansewinkel was on the spot to find the rebound. His shot was deflected by a defender, and he won the Wildcats a corner.

After scoring 10 minutes into the game, the Huskies broke the tie with just under 10 minutes left in the match. A free kick was delivered into the box of Cedergren, the ball took multiple deflections before landing on the foot of Matthew Greenland, who put the ball on target and beat Cedergren to deliver the dagger.

Up Next
The Wildcats will host two games at home versus Purdue Northwest and Parkside on Friday, September 27, and Sunday, September 29.