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Madison Bilbia
Madison Bilbia vs the Lakers last season

Women's Soccer Emma Marotz - Athletics Communications Assistant

PREVIEW: Wildcats Welcome No. 3 Lakers, Panthers to Marquette

MARQUETTE, Mich. - The NMU women's soccer team is back at home, welcoming a top team in the nation and a pair of conference foes, the No. 3 Grand Valley State Lakers and the Davenport Panthers.

After opening the conference schedule on the road, the Wildcats (1-2-3 overall, 1-1-0 GLIAC) return to Marquette for its first weekend of home GLIAC matches under head coach Erin Egolf. The Wildcats split the weekend matches last weekend, claiming the first win under Egolf thanks to an offensive explosion late in the second half.

The weekend begins with nationally ranked Grand Valley State (4-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 GLIAC), who enters the weekend ranked third in the country and first in the Midwest region before a match against Davenport (0-4-2 overall, 0-2-0 GLIAC), the only remaining team in the GLIAC without a win on the season.

Kick-off against the Lakers on Friday, September 26, is set for 1 p.m., and the match against the Panthers taking place at noon on Sunday, September 28.

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

Friday, September 26 - vs No. 3 Grand Valley State at 1 PM
Watch | Live Stats

Sunday, September 28 - vs Davenport at Noon
Watch | Live Stats


Hear from Coach Egolf
"For our [team], it's about having the mentality that we are going to be in a dog fight, and that we want to make the game difficult for [our opponents]... we want to make teams have to battle us as hard as they can."



Last Time Out
In the first of two road games, the team traveled to Chicago, Illinois to face off against Roosevelt, where the Wildcats secured their first win of the season. The game was scoreless going into the second half of the game, where the Wildcats decided to let loose and score four goals in the final half an hour. Those goals were scored by Marena Maceroni, Madison Bilbia, Alyse Daavetilla, and Addison Frantti. Maceroni, Gretchen Ellis, and Kenna Alexander came in clutch with assists. Only 3 athletes played the full 90 minutes of game time, including Jillian Thompson, Hannah Kastamo, and Irene Kiilunen. 

In the second game of the road stretch, the Wildcats traveled to Kenosha to face off against Parkside, where the team fell in a 1-2 decision. Kenna Alexander had the lone goal for the team, thanks to a succesful penalty kick. Carly Sides, a redshirted freshman goalkeeper, got her first career start, making eight saves in her debut. This marked the most saves in an NMU goalkeeper debut (dating back to 2009), and the most single-game saves since 2022 with Ava Wilberding, when she had 8 saves against Ferris State. Addison Wargo and Kiilunen were the only two Northern Michigan players to play the full 90 minutes during this game. 

Looking at our opponents:
Grand Valley State
After losing in penalty kicks in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Lakers entered the preseason in the fifth spot in the nation. Since then, the Lakers have moved up two spots, and are the number three team in the nation in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll.

The Lakers are led by Sarah Fromm with three goals, but she hasn't scored in three games. Alli French is next with a pair of goals, and enters the weekend riding a two-game goal streak. Cora Conley has three assists, including two games in a row and three in the past four. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sara Csernyik started the first four games, was replaced at halftime in the fourth game, and was replaced by freshman goalkeeper Macie Hunter, who recorded a shutout against Saginaw Valley in the conference opener last weekend. 

The Lakers have out scored its opponents 8-4, out shot its opponents 79-28 with a 33-12 on target advantage, and have 31 corners to 16. 

The Wildcats are 2-26-3 all-time against the Lakers, with the 'Cats only win at home against GVSU coming on September 19, 2010. 

Davenport
Still searching for its first victory of the 2025 season, the Panthers make a stop in Houghton to face Michigan Tech on Friday before heading east to Marquette for the Sunday kickoff.

The Panthers have scored three goals in six games, with all three tallies and assists coming from different players. Senior netminder Bailey Gauthier has played and started every match, where she is third in the GLIAC with 22 saves. 

The Panthers have scored the fewest amount of goals, have conceded the third-most in the conference, and are averaging 1.50 points per game with nine points on the season, both the worst marks in the GLIAC. 

NMU is 7-1-1 against Davenport the last nine games, and haven't lost at home to the Panthers since October 20, 2019. 



 
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Players Mentioned

Kenna Alexander

#10 Kenna Alexander

MF/D
5' 4"
Senior
Madison Bilbia

#13 Madison Bilbia

F/MF
5' 5"
Junior
Hannah Kastamo

#7 Hannah Kastamo

D
5' 8"
Senior
Irene Kiilunen

#17 Irene Kiilunen

D
5' 6"
Sophomore
Marena Maceroni

#27 Marena Maceroni

F
5' 4"
Sophomore
Carly Sides

#0 Carly Sides

GK
5' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
Jillian Thompson

#1 Jillian Thompson

GK
5' 8"
Redshirt Junior
Addison Wargo

#24 Addison Wargo

D
5' 3"
Senior
Gretchen Ellis

#2 Gretchen Ellis

MF
5' 6"
Freshman
Addison Frantti

#6 Addison Frantti

F
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kenna Alexander

#10 Kenna Alexander

5' 4"
Senior
MF/D
Madison Bilbia

#13 Madison Bilbia

5' 5"
Junior
F/MF
Hannah Kastamo

#7 Hannah Kastamo

5' 8"
Senior
D
Irene Kiilunen

#17 Irene Kiilunen

5' 6"
Sophomore
D
Marena Maceroni

#27 Marena Maceroni

5' 4"
Sophomore
F
Carly Sides

#0 Carly Sides

5' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
GK
Jillian Thompson

#1 Jillian Thompson

5' 8"
Redshirt Junior
GK
Addison Wargo

#24 Addison Wargo

5' 3"
Senior
D
Gretchen Ellis

#2 Gretchen Ellis

5' 6"
Freshman
MF
Addison Frantti

#6 Addison Frantti

5' 5"
Freshman
F