MARQUETTE, Mich. - Despite controlling play, even while down a man for a majority of the game, the Northern Michigan University men's soccer team dropped its first home match of the season in a 1-0 loss to no. 21 Parkside.

Before any bookings were handed out, the Rangers scored off a set piece 19 minutes into the game, after the service ball took a poor NMU bounce and found the back of the net.

The Wildcats were given a straight red card 20 minutes into the match, leaving the Wildcats down a man, eventually playing 55 minutes down a man. Despite playing down a man for more than half of the opening frame, the Wildcats dominated play. The 'Cats turned in a terrific performance down a man, outshooting the Rangers 10-3, committing only three fouls to the Ranger's 10, and recording one booking to the Ranger's five yellow cards in the half, but found themselves down a goal.

"At the end of the day, tremendous effort from our guys," said head coach Alex Fatovic in his post-match press conference. "They just played down a man for 55 minutes and had a ton of chances to tie it, but we also put ourselves in a bad position and gave them some chances. We had great energy, effort, and intensity, but it's hard to dig yourself out against one of the top teams in the country [playing down a man]."

It was a similar story for the Wildcats, as they controlled play despite being a man down for the opening 30 minutes, as they outshot the Rangers 13-7 with six corner kick attempts. The first Parkside red card came just over the 74th-minute mark, leveling the field. The Rangers' second red card came with just over two minutes to play, and despite multiple glorious looks on offense with time expiring, a clearance rolled into the Wildcat half, and time expired.

The tremendous offensive pressure was aided by outstanding goalkeeping from freshman Nils Cedergren, who matched a career-best with his five saves on the evening to keep the Wildcats within one goal despite being down a man.

"[Nils] has been solid all year long. He's been cold as ice, and you want that from your goalkeeper. Stellar play from a freshman, he kept us within striking distance, and he's getting better every day."

The Wildcats now move to 5-2-1 overall and 1-2-0 in conference play and now have their sights set on a quick turnaround, as the 'Cats play host to St. Cloud State at home on Wednesday.

"Every GLIAC match is a battle, and now we have short rest as we're back to work on Wednesday. We need the community out for support, but our guys will respond. They work for each other, they're a tremendous group, and I applaud their efforts here today." 

Cat Nips

• The Wildcats outshot the Rangers 23 to 10, as both teams hit six goals on target
• Northern had the advantage in corners, comparing eight to one to Parkside
• Three red cards were given out in today's match, one of them being given to William Uchenna in the 19th minute 
• The Wildcats only had nine fouls versus the Rangers who gave up 14
• Alessandro Scialanga still leads the 'Cats in points, with eight in total, three goals, and two assists
• Tommaso Lami led the 'Cats in shots (5), while Teun Van Gansewinkel led the Wildcats in shots on goal (2)
• Finn van den Berg and Alessando Scialanga were the two field players who played 90 minutes in the match
• Nils Cedergren had five saves in total today, with one goal scored against
• The Wildcats now have a record of 4-2-1 overall, and 1-2 in the GLIAC

How It Happened
With a fierce start to the game, there was a lot of back and forth between the Wildcats and the Rangers. 

Jan Hoffman started the half off with a free kick on the right side of the field. Hoffman whipped it past the 18-yard box and the 'Cats were able to get a head on the ball, but it went just left of the frame. 

About 10 minutes later, Alessandro Scialanaga played a little back foot cross into the box, with William Uchenna on the other side of the ball, but headed it over the top of the goal. 

In the 18th minute, Mario Bolado took a free kick for the Rangers from far outside of the box. Bolado was able to fire the ball into the 18-yard box, where the 'Cats got an unfortunate foot on the ball, giving the Rangers the lead. 

Two minutes later, William Uchenna received a red card, putting the Wildcats down a player for the rest of the game. 

Odds against Northern's favor, the Wildcats did not let up. Tomasso Lami played a ball into Davian Gumbs, but the shot was once again saved by the Ranger's goalkeeper, Daniyal Rana. 

As the first half ended, six yellow cards and one red card was shown, resulting in seven cards given out to the teams in the first 45 minutes. 

The level for both teams did not drop in the second half. Nils Cedergren made two huge back-to-back saves within the first 5 minutes. The first save being a fired shot from inside the 18-yard box and the second being what should have been an easy tap-in for Parkside, but the ball was not getting past Cedergren. 

In the 63rd minute, the 'Cats found one of their biggest chances of the game. Scialanga received a ball down the left side of the field, dribbled right towards the left side of the goal, took a shot, but was deflected by Rana. As the ball bounced back into the center of the 18, Quint Van Roij had a second chance at goal, but his shot was yet again saved by Rana. 

With the Wildcats playing down a player for 54 minutes of the game, Parkside's player, Eduardo Perez, was shown a red card to make it 10v10 in the 74th minute.

13 minutes later, Valetin Sandoval was also given a red card, putting the Wildcats up one player with 3 minutes to spare. 

Although the 'Cats had an immense amount of opportunities, they weren't able to find the back of the net. 

The game ended 0-1, and the Wildcats took their first home loss and second overall loss of the season. 

Up Next
The Wildcats look to play St. Cloud State on Wednesday, October 2, at 2 PM.