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Weekend Recap - 10/13
The No. 16 XC team, Steve Mariucci looking at his jersey in the rafters, Tyler Annala hitting an approach during a playoff hole

General

Weekend Recap in NMU Athletics: 10/6 - 10/12

No. 16 Cross Country wins Royals Challenge, Steve Mariucci's jersey is hung in the rafters, Tyler Annala finishes T1 at Flyer Fall Intercollegiate, and more!

Football - 50th Anniversary of the 1975 National Championship Team, Mariucci Jersey Retiring
  • 7-35 loss to No. 8 Grand Valley State
The Northern Michigan football team was deadlocked with the No. 8 Grand Valley State Lakers 7-7 at halftime on Saturday night in the Superior Dome, but NMU surrendered four touchdowns to the Lakers in the second half in a 35-7 defeat.

Northern's defense looked dominant in the opening half, limiting the high-octane GVSU offense to just seven points to go along with an interception from Murphy Monreal, two sacks, and three forced punts. Offensively, the Wildcats totaled 242 yards while GVSU racked up 329. Noah Dobert led the way with 61 yards on 21 carries, including NMU's lone score, a 1-yard plunge late in the first half. On the defensive side, Jax Hertel (13) and Mitch Larkin (12) combined for 25 tackles.

On the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1975 National Championship Team, which included QB Steve Mariucci getting his jersey retired at halftime.
 
Hockey - at No. 16/16 Ohio State
  • Friday, 2-5 loss
  • Saturday, 1-3 loss
On Friday, the Wildcats got multi-point games from Peter Cisar (1-1--2) and Michael Burchill (1-1--2), both of them earning their first career collegiate goals and points. The pair assisted on eachothers goals to make the game 3-2 before two unanswered from the Buckeyes sealed it. Tynan Ewart and Anthony Cliche also picked up assists. William Gramme played the first 40 minutes and change before being replaced by Oliver Auyeung-Ashton 29 seconds into the third period. Gramme made 29 saves on 34 shots faced, and Auyeung-Ashton stopped all eight sent his way.

On Saturday, the team rounded out its road non-conference schedule, falling 3-1 on an empty net goal to the Buckeyes. Freshman netminder Auyeung-Ashton made his first career collegiate start, making 45 saves. This number marks the most saves by a freshman netminder in their first NMU start in the modern NCAA era (since 2004), and the most by an NMU freshman since Atte Tolvanen made 46 on October 30, 2015. Also becomes the ninth freshman goalie to make 45+ saves in their collegiate debut in the past 20 years, and only the second in the past 10 (Gavin FitzPatrick, Stonehill, 58, 2/3/2023). Freshman forward Landon MacDonald scored his first career collegiate goal in his collegiate debut on just his second shot on goal. 


Volleyball
  • Thursday, 3-2 win at Michigan Tech
  • Saturday - 3-1 win at Purdue Northwest
Facing a 9-5 deficit in the fifth set in a hostile environment, the Northern Michigan volleyball team stormed back with a 10-2 run to secure a thrilling come-from-behind non-conference victory over rival Michigan Tech on Thursday night at the SDC Gymnasium. Northern dropped a tight 26-24 opener but responded with decisive 25-19 and 25-18 wins in the next two frames. Tech battled back to claim the fourth 25-22 and force a deciding fifth, but the Green and Gold persevered for a 15-11 clincher to take the match 3-2. The Wildcats' defense anchored the effort, totaling 90 digs, the second time this season they've reached that mark. Coming off a GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week honor, libero Liesl Haugen backed it up with a career-best 38 digs, the most in the GLIAC this season and the fifth-highest single-match total in Division II this year.

The Northern Michigan volleyball team extended its winning streak to six on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Purdue Northwest Pride in four sets, 26-24, 25-18, 21-25, and 25-23. NMU squeaked out a thrilling opening-set win before cruising through the second to take a 2-0 match lead. The Wildcats had a chance to complete the sweep, leading 20-18 in the third, but PNW closed strong with seven of the final eight points. Northern didn't let that loss deter them, bouncing back with a gritty, back-and-forth victory in the fourth to seal the match. The Wildcats tallied 61 kills on a .267 attack percentage, led by McKenzie Gruner and Kaylie McIntosh with 14 apiece. Madison York followed with 13, while Emilia Gulock added 10. All four came through in key moments, each posting at least four kills in at least one set. Kaysie Bakke chipped in eight kills, including a pair that sealed sets for Northern. Allie Barlow efficiently directed the offense with 47 assists.


Men's Soccer
  • 1-0 win vs. No. 17 Saginaw Valley State
  • 1-1 draw vs. Davenport
In a monumental day at the NMU Soccer Field, the men's soccer team took down the reigning GLIAC Champions and 2024 NCAA Elite Eight team 1-0. The Wildcats took a full three points off of the No. 17 Cardinals , something no team had done this season up to this point. The Wildcats also secured only its second win in program history over SVSU, and just the first time the 'Cats have downed the Cardinals in Marquette. Luca Rosen scored his fourth goal in five games, Asaf Kristal made 12 saves in the shutout, and the 'Cats had to play down a man for 35 minutes after a VAR review booked Tyler Kowalczyk for a red card.

The Wildcats got another goal from Luca Rosen on Sunday, scoring in the 68th minute after he drew a red card from just outside the box and converted on his free kick. The 'Cats only held the lead for two minutes, as goalkeeper Beau Hudd sent a free kick into the box that was originally punched away before finding the head of Ryan Sheffer. NMU had 20 minutes to find the back of the net with a man up, firing 10 shots in the final 15 minutes and generating a handful of quality chances, but the Panthers were able to escape unscathed. Despite being up a man, the 'Cats didn't have mother nature on its side, as the team had to deal with 30 MPH wind gusts into their face for the entire second half.

Women's Soccer
  • 1-0 loss to Michigan Tech
The Wildcats dominated the Huskies, out shooting them 23-7, amassing 10 corner kicks to the Huskies' none, and possessing the ball in the MTU end 70% of the time when NMU had the ball. The Huskies got a wonder goal from Olivia Gette, who scored a wind-aided worldie off a free kick from just 10 yards inside the Wildcat half. Husky goalkeeper Bri Barrows made five saves to pick up the shutout, the first of the season. Sunday's result snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak for the Wildcats over the Huskies, and the first time the team has lost to Michigan Tech in Marquette since August 30, 2018, another 1-0 decision. 


No. 16 Cross Country
  • 1st of 18 at Royals Challenge
The No. 16 Northern Michigan cross country team delivered a statement performance on Friday evening, racing to a first-place finish out of 18 teams at the Royals Challenge hosted by Queens University of Charlotte. The Wildcats edged out No. 19 Catawba, tallying 39 points to 47 in a tightly contested race filled with nationally-ranked talent.

In the team's first 5K race of the season, Madi Szymanski broke the program record that stood for more than 25 years. She led the charge with a third-place finish in 17:18.7, eclipsing Caitlin Compton's time of 17:25.00 in 1999. The finish marked her fourth straight top-10 performance after returning from injury last year. She also shattered her previous 5K personal best by more than a minute. Not far behind, Ashley Choponis continued her breakout campaign, finishing fourth in 17:26.3. The freshman standout from Sidney, Michigan, was also the top underclassman among 164 runners. Emma Sweeney rounded out NMU's trio of top-10 finishers, clocking 17:40.3 for ninth place, a two-minute improvement from her previous 5K PR in 2023.


Men's Golf
  • 8th of 15 at Flyer Fall Intercollegiate
  • 7th of 12 at DU Panther Invite
It was a career-defining tournament for senior Tyler Annala, as he finished the Flyer Fall Intercollegiate as a 54-hole co-tournament champion before losing in the second playoff hole to finish second. Annala, who entered the third round with a two-round score of +2, started slow, shooting +7 in his first nine holes. Annala then caught fire, carding four straight birdies on 15, 16, 17, and 18 to catapult him back into a share of the tournament lead. After pars on holes one and two, Annala carded a bogey on the par-four third, but immediately responded with a birdie on the par-four fourth, holding a share for the lead with one hole to play. Annala had a chance to win the tournament with a birdie on the par-five fifth, but a par on the last sent him to a three-way playoff. Annala would eventually lose on the second playoff hole to finish second, marking the best finish of his career and only his second career top-10 finish. Annala's 10 birdies over 54 holes are the fourth-most, and his three-round score of 221 is the tenth-best three-round score in program history, beating his previous best three-round score by one stroke.

The duo of Harvey Ylitalo and Annala paced the Wildcats at the DU Panther Invite, both shooting a two-day score of +11 to finish just outside of the top 30. Ylitalo had the better day two, shaving seven strokes off his first round score to shoot a +2 (73). Ylitalo had a great start and back nine today, opening his second round with three birdies four pars in his opening eight holes, starting his second round -2 through eight before shooting a -2 (33) on the back nine. Annala had a stretch of holes that saw him shoot -1 in five holes on the back nine, birdieing the par-five 16th.


Women's Golf
  • 8th of 9 at Flyer Fall Intercollegiate
  • 10th of 12 at DU Panther Invite
At the Flyer Fall Intercollegiate, Maddy Martens added a top-20 finish to her resume, finishing 17th as an individual with her three-round total of +27. After opening her third round by shooting +7 in her first six holes, Martens finished strong, recording a five-hole stretch where she shot -2 with birdies on the par-three seventh and par-four 10th. Martens would card a triple-bogey on her final hole, giving her a round of +11 in the final 18-holes. Martens' 5.00 scoring average on the par-fives was good enough for T4 on the field, her five birdies was good for T8, and her 27 pars was T12. Matching Martens for the team's best score in the third round, Payton Donnelly finished second on the team and T23 overall with her three-round total of +31. Donnelly carded her fourth birdie of the tournament today, coming on the par-four 16th. Just missing the top-25 and right behind Donnelly was Abbie Pietila, who finished the three-round tournament at T27 with a score of +35. Pietila carded a score of +15 in round three, with a lone birdie on the par-four 17th.

Aavra Relich led the Wildcats on the day and overall, finishing with a two-day score of +15 after her second round +7. Relich recorded 11 pars today, shooting a +3 (39) on the front and +4 (40) on the back. The duo of Payton Donnelly and Maddy Martens finished second on the team after two rounds of play with matching +20 after 36 holes of play. Donnelly shot a second-round +9 and Martens carded a second-round +10, both athletes carding 11 pars. Abbie Pietila finished fourth on the team with her two-day total of +27, shooting a round-two +12 with seven pars and the lone Wildcat birdie on the day, circling the par-four tenth.




 
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Players Mentioned

Anthony Cliche

#20 Anthony Cliche

D
6' 4"
Sophomore
Tynan Ewart

#6 Tynan Ewart

D
6' 0"
Junior
William Gramme

#1 William Gramme

G
6' 3"
Junior
Peter Cisar

#12 Peter Cisar

F
6' 0"
Freshman
Michael Burchill

#18 Michael Burchill

F
5' 10"
Freshman
Landon MacDonald

#22 Landon MacDonald

F
6' 1"
Freshman
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

#30 Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

G
5' 10"
Freshman
Kaysie Bakke

#7 Kaysie Bakke

OH
6' 1"
Junior
Allie Barlow

#21 Allie Barlow

S
5' 9"
Junior
McKenzie Gruner

#5 McKenzie Gruner

MB
6' 2"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Anthony Cliche

#20 Anthony Cliche

6' 4"
Sophomore
D
Tynan Ewart

#6 Tynan Ewart

6' 0"
Junior
D
William Gramme

#1 William Gramme

6' 3"
Junior
G
Peter Cisar

#12 Peter Cisar

6' 0"
Freshman
F
Michael Burchill

#18 Michael Burchill

5' 10"
Freshman
F
Landon MacDonald

#22 Landon MacDonald

6' 1"
Freshman
F
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

#30 Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

5' 10"
Freshman
G
Kaysie Bakke

#7 Kaysie Bakke

6' 1"
Junior
OH
Allie Barlow

#21 Allie Barlow

5' 9"
Junior
S
McKenzie Gruner

#5 McKenzie Gruner

6' 2"
Senior
MB