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Northern Michigan University

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Irene Kiilunen

Women's Soccer Jack Nelson - Athletics Communications Assistant

PREVIEW: Must-win matches for women's soccer in regular season finale

NMU is in need of GLIAC points if the Green and Gold wants to host a quarterfinal match in Marquette

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU women's soccer team is set to conclude its regular season campaign this weekend, with a pair of road matches against Davenport and (RV) Grand Valley State.

NMU (8-3-5, 5-3-4 GLIAC, 19 pts - 5th) will visit the Davenport Panthers (8-4-4, 6-4-2 GLIAC, 20 pts - T3) on Thursday, October 28, at 12 p.m. ET before taking on Grand Valley State (8-3-5, 6-2-4 GLIAC, 26 pts - 2nd) for its regular season finale on Saturday, October 31, at 1 p.m. ET. 

Fans can live stream both matches through FloCollege, follow the live stats and stay up to date with written coverage of both games at nmuwildcats.com, and follow the official NMU women's soccer social media channels for continued coverage.  

The Wildcats are in need of crucial GLIAC standings points if head coach Erin Egolf and her team want to host a home quarterfinal match next Tuesday. In the final regular season weekend in Marquette, the 'Cats recorded back-to-back draws against Parkside and Ferris State, coming as 1-1 and 0-0 decisions.

NMU secured two of a possible six points at home this past weekend, and remain on the outside looking in with a tough road trip ahead.

"I thought we were a bit slow in the first half on Sunday," noted head coach Egolf in her weekly media availability. "We didn't quite get into our game until the second half [against Ferris], and then I thought we had a really dominant second half…When you have 17 shots and only one on goal, that paints a picture for you. We weren't productive enough... we put a little bit of pressure on ourselves, and so now we've got to go do some work on the road."

Northern has now extended its unbeaten streak to nine games, with its last loss coming over a month ago, when the Green and Gold fell on the road to Roosevelt 1-2 back on September 18. Since then, NMU has won or drawn every game and is outscoring its opponents 21-3 in that same span. 

Despite this recent domination and Northern clinching a spot in the GLIAC tournament, the squad still sits fifth in the conference standings, leaving the 'Cats scratching and clawing this weekend, trying to keep its hopes of playing a postseason game in Marquette alive.

"I think two wins secure us a hosting bid. Maybe a win and a tie if other results go our way, but truthfully it's in our hands…[T]his last weekend, we've got to bring everything we have. We have to bring our A-game. Two tough opponents, two opponents above us, but two winnable games if we play well. And so I think that gives us a lot of optimism and hope that if we go in and do what we need to do, we have a chance to host."

NMU cannot look too far into the future, though. The squad will need to focus on the lone task at hand both Thursday and Saturday, as Grand Valley and Davenport currently sit second and third in the GLIAC, respectively.

On top of that, the Wildcats and its respective opponents this weekend are still in the hunt for a bid into the NCAA Tournament. NMU is currently ninth in NPI standings in the Midwest region, with Davenport right behind at 10th, and Grand Valley is seventh. With the three conferences in the region getting a tournament winner auto-bid, there are five at-large spots up for grabs, and results this weekend would be monumental for the teams' NCAA Tournament hopes.

"We know Thursday is going to be a really physical game against Davenport, and so we've got to be in the best physical condition possible to go in and win that game. And we don't really have that many days to train, so really it's just fine-tuning a few things. Making sure our legs are ready to go, [and] making sure the mindset's there, which it absolutely will be. Our team knows what we have to do, and they're ready."



 
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