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Northern Michigan University

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Women's Soccer
The Wildcats have gotten contributions all throughout the lineup in its six-game unbeaten streak

Women's Soccer Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Women's Soccer Riding High

Erin Egolf and the NMU women's soccer team holds a six-game unbeaten streak heading into the weekend

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU women's soccer team looks to continue generating momentum this weekend, hosting Michigan Tech on Sunday.

The Wildcats (7-3-3, 4-3-2 GLIAC, 5th - 14 pts) are now six games unbeaten, with the team having notched three clean sheets in a row with four total in that frame, and are creating a lot of offensive chances, evident through out scoring the opposition 16-2.

NMU now welcomes Michigan Tech (1-10-2, 1-6-2 GLIAC, 5 pts - 9th GLIAC) to Marquette, who are coming off its best weekend of 2026 with a win and draw in a four-point weekend at home.

Sunday's match is set to kick off from the NMU Soccer Field at 12 p.m. ET. Attendance at the pitch is free; fans can live stream the match through FloCollege, follow along with live stats provided through nmuwildcats.com, and subscribe to the official NMU women's soccer social media pages for continuous coverage throughout matchday. 

Last weekend, the Wildcats were held to a scoreless 0-0 draw to Purdue Northwest on Friday before erupting in a 4-0 win over Roosevelt on Sunday.

"We were fairly wasteful with our chances [against Purdue Northwest]", added head coach Erin Egolf during her weekly media availability. "We created a lot of really good chances and just couldn't find one. We laughed a little bit after the game; we don't have to win every game by multiple goals. All it would have taken is one. And we were fairly dominant in that game [and] they didn't really trouble us too much. They were very scrappy, and they battled us, but we were the masters of our own destiny in that game, and we lost out on two points. So that was pretty disappointing.

"But to come back [on Sunday against Roosevelt] and see the response, which we've seen over and over this season from the group. It took us a little while to see that response come to fruition. I don't know if I've ever seen more shots in a game, like dangerous chances in a game for one team, and we waited until the last 12 minutes to truly put the game out of reach, but then it came in a flurry."

The Wildcats enter the weekend in a tremendous spot with five games remaining in the regular season. The 'Cats remain ninth in the Midwest region by NPI standings, are just one point outside of hosting the first round of the GLIAC Tournament, and are within striking distance of making a bid into the NCAA Tournament.

While it's easy to daydream and look ahead at the possibilities, head coach Egolf knows not to put the cart before the horse and to stay in the present.

"We still have to go one game at a time, but with five games left, we're in a great position, and we have to keep being competitive and putting good performances together. I think we did see some really nice things in the Purdue Northwest game in terms of possession, and that's something we talked about massively after the Michigan Tech game [two weekends ago]. We have to keep the ball more, and we've talked about it all season, and we saw that against Purdue Northwest. And so overall, I'm pleased with the weekend. Would have loved a win on Friday, but that's our sport. That's our game. We moved on. We responded well."

The task at hand for Egolf and her crew this weekend is a rematch with U.P. rival Michigan Tech, who are in desperate need of results if the Huskies hope to keep its season alive. While the Wildcats handled the Huskies in Houghton, Egolf will still carry takeaways from this past weekend into the match on Sunday, a crucial meeting for both sides who both need the results for different reasons.

At the front of the bench boss' mind is her team's creation of chances and continuing to put the opposition under pressure. NMU has outshot its opponents 103-78 during its six-match unbeaten streak, including a whopping 77-34 advantage in the past three contests. The Wildcats defeated Michigan Tech 4-0 in Houghton not that long ago, and continued offensive pressure and finding the goal will be critical for repeated success.

"We need to carry that into Sunday for sure, and I know the girls have belief that they can do it. We've seen us do it, and it's come from a variety of sources. We'll refine some of those things and give them tons of reps this week at training in front of goal and around the box.

Egolf also made note of the 'Cats exceptional run of defensive play as well, with three shutouts in a row, four in the past five, and only allowing one goal against in the two games that the Green and Gold did concede in this six-game run.

After only one clean sheet and 11 goals allowed in the opening seven matches, the Wildcats have four clean sheets and two goals conceded in its last six, a trend that head coach Egolf has identified as an area of strength in the second half of the season.

"Defensively, we've been really tough to break down and to score on. That's the defenders, our goalkeeping, and full team defending. We should take a lot of pride in that, and I think that's something that we've recognized. We didn't have very many shutouts in the first half of our season, [and now] we're finding ways to keep people away from and out of our goal. We certainly want to continue that."

While the recent goal scoring a lockdown defense are high points, the Wildcats still have a job to do on Sunday, and all of this will be for naught if the 'Cats look past its rival, who are coming off a four-point weekend that featured a 2-0 win over Roosevelt and 1-1 draw to Purdue.

"We're focused on Tech. We know we just played them two weeks ago, but they came off the best weekend of their season too, so they're going to be coming in with some fire. We've got to be ready to go, and we're going to have to be at the top of our game if we want to have success again. I know every week I say "one at a time, one at a time", it becomes cliché, right? But truly, every game matters, and every opponent's going to be tough no matter who it is. And so we've got to be prepared for Tech and ready to take them on. [I have] full confidence in our team to do that."

And her team has given her confidence that the results will continue to come, thanks to scoring and defensive contributions all throughout the lineup.

Senior captain Madison Bilbia has four goals and two assists in her last six games, sophomore Addison Frantti has four goals in the 'Cats last four matches, freshman defensive midfielder Sole Corley has three goals in the last three contests, and junior Alyse Daavettila has a goal and two assists in her last three games. 

Captain Madalyn Nissen has stepped up and scored the Wildcats' two penalty kicks, Riley Hill has added a pair of assists in the past two contests, and fellow defenders Ava Buhlman and Irene Kiilunen pace the Wildcats in minutes played, playing a crucial role in keeping the ball out of the back of the net.

Early in the season, the Wildcats got crucial contributions from second-team players to get results, including an early jolt from senior Isabella Lorens, who scored two goals and three assists in the opening four games. NMU is now getting major contributions from its entire starting 11, something that head coach Egolf says makes her team particularly hard to defend.

"We've had a lot of production from a lot of different areas... There's no one player on our team you can point to and say "if we shut her down, they're not going to be successful", or if somebody's having a bad game their team's not going to be successful. That's not the case. I think next girl up is a great way to look at it, and I think everyone wants that responsibility... Every player on our team is ready to make an impact, and I think we see that in the competition and training every day. You never know when your number's going to be called. You never know when your time's going to come. You have to be prepared. You have to be ready. And I think we've truly seen that from our group."






 
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Players Mentioned

Madison Bilbia

#13 Madison Bilbia

F
5' 5"
Senior
Ava Buhlman

#21 Ava Buhlman

D
5' 5"
Senior
Alyse Daavettila

#31 Alyse Daavettila

F
5' 3"
Junior
Addison Frantti

#6 Addison Frantti

F
5' 7"
Sophomore
Irene Kiilunen

#17 Irene Kiilunen

D
5' 6"
Junior
Isabella Lorens

#12 Isabella Lorens

F
5' 3"
Senior
Madalyn Nissen

#19 Madalyn Nissen

D
5' 3"
Redshirt Junior
Sole Corley

#9 Sole Corley

MF
5' 7"
Freshman
Riley Hill

#28 Riley Hill

D
5' 9"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Madison Bilbia

#13 Madison Bilbia

5' 5"
Senior
F
Ava Buhlman

#21 Ava Buhlman

5' 5"
Senior
D
Alyse Daavettila

#31 Alyse Daavettila

5' 3"
Junior
F
Addison Frantti

#6 Addison Frantti

5' 7"
Sophomore
F
Irene Kiilunen

#17 Irene Kiilunen

5' 6"
Junior
D
Isabella Lorens

#12 Isabella Lorens

5' 3"
Senior
F
Madalyn Nissen

#19 Madalyn Nissen

5' 3"
Redshirt Junior
D
Sole Corley

#9 Sole Corley

5' 7"
Freshman
MF
Riley Hill

#28 Riley Hill

5' 9"
Junior
D