HAMMOND, Ind. - The No. 21 Northern Michigan (NMU) men's soccer team (7-4-2, 4-2-2 GLIAC) narrowly fell on the road to the Purdue Northwest Lions (7-3-2, 4-3-1 GLIAC) on Sunday.
The match proved to be a defensive battle throughout the first two thirds of the contest, but Ricardo Cruz was able to put the Lions on the board in the 62nd minute, just beating NMU goaltender Asaf Kristal to the upper left corner of the net.
The Wildcats continued to fight, earning arguably their best opportunity to knot up the score in the 79th as Sam Pilgrim fired in a free kick from just outside the box, but a diving save by PNW goaltender Estefano Alvear stopped the attempt in its tracks. Then, later in the match, Sergio Cano Castro nearly hooked the ball into the upper right corner after an impressive attack to work his way past multiple defenders on the left side, but the Lions' defense had an answer at every turn to preserve the clean sheet and the 1-0 victory.
The Lions outshot NMU 11-7, including a 6-5 margin in shots on target. Both teams earned four corner kick opportunities, and 11 total yellow cards were assessed on the day, including seven cautions against the Lions.
Up Next
The Wildcats will be looking to bounce back when they host the Huskies of St. Cloud State on Friday, Oct. 16 with kick off scheduled for 3 p.m.
