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Emma Kastamo celebrates after scoring
Emma Kastamo celebrates after scoring her second goal of the game

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

Women's Soccer Caps Off Preseason with 3-1 Win

The jam-packed preseason comes to a close as school begins and the regular season looms

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU women's soccer team completed its pre-season preparation with an exhibition match on Monday against UW-Stevens Point. 

After two full weeks of training and an intrasquad scrimmage, head coach Erin Egolf and the 'Cats had an action-packed and condensed finish to the preseason. 

The Wildcats started with a five-hour ride to Mequon, Wisconsin, to play Concordia University-Wisconsin on Thursday, August 20, before a quick 30-minute drive south to Milwaukee to play Milwaukee School of Engineering on Saturday, August 22. 

The team then hit the road back to Marquette, and after a welcome-back meeting on Sunday night, school resumed on Monday, August 24. The 'Cats went to their first classes of the fall semester before meeting the Pointers on the NMU soccer field at 4:30 p.m. for the team's final preseason exhibition match.

"I thought today was a decent way to cap off our three exhibition games in six days," said head coach Egolf, who saw her team take a 3-1 decision on home pitch. "I thought we looked a little leggy today, but that'll happen when you play three games in a short period of time. We had a great preseason, and played three opponents who posed different problems for us, which is great because we're going to see a lot of different things in conference play.

"We've had a lot of rotation [over the preseason], we got to see a lot of different players in a lot of different areas, and I think we're feeling ready and confident heading into our regular season opener on Friday."

The 'Cats got back to campus for preseason training on Monday, August 10, exactly two weeks prior to kick-off today against the Pointers. Captain Madalyn Nissen says that the mixture of returning leadership and the drive from the incoming freshmen has helped the group progress to where they are today.

"We came [into preseason] with a lot of new faces, but I think that really helped us in a different way, because everyone was ready and hungry to get after it right away. We worked hard every day for two weeks, doing two-a-days and having a blast getting to know each other, but also putting each other under pressure and pushing each other to our limits to make everyone better. That has been really big for us and has helped us get to where we are now."

The Wildcats played well in the opening 45 minutes and excelled as the game progressed deeper into the half. Isabella Lorens capped off a sweeping cross with a decisive header on the back post, then shortly after, Emma Kastamo made a decisive hit from the top of the box to extend the Wildcat lead to two. Kastamo scored a screamer late in the second half to complete her brace and give NMU a 3-1 lead and secure a positive decision in the dying moments of the match. 

The Wildcats now look forward to the beginning of the regular season, where they host regional foes St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. The 'Cats play the Huskies on Friday, August 28, at 3 p.m., and the Bulldogs on Sunday, August 30, at 12 p.m., both at the NMU soccer field on the beautiful shores of Lake Superior. 

Ahead of the regular season opener and after the end of a jam packed preseason, both Nissen and Egolf credit the growth of the group during that first two weeks of training to where the team is now, just a handful of days before the first regular season contest.

"Everyone is super excited [for the regular season opener]," adds Nissen. "We've worked so hard these last two weeks to build up to this, and we're all really ready to hit the ground running and prove to ourselves that the hard work we've been putting in outside of the games is going to pay off. Everyone's got a little nervous excitement, but it's good excitement because that means you're ready to get on the field and paly to your best ability."

"There's been a lot of learning," said Egolf. "We've had a lot of different things that we've had to cover with our new and returners alike. There's learning no matter what, and I think when you integrate players that haven't played together, there's a certain component there that takes time, and we've seen a lot of positive progression over the last two weeks.

"I'm really proud of the girls. They've put in a ton of hard work, and we're seeing some of it pay off so far [this preseason]. There's still a lot more ways to go, but the journey is [where we are at] in November. There's been a lot of positive signs: a lot of commitment from the group, they're hard workers, we've got some depth, and we're excited to put that into practice on Friday."




 
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Players Mentioned

Emma Kastamo

#18 Emma Kastamo

MF
5' 6"
Sophomore
Isabella Lorens

#12 Isabella Lorens

F
5' 3"
Junior
Madalyn Nissen

#19 Madalyn Nissen

F/D
5' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Emma Kastamo

#18 Emma Kastamo

5' 6"
Sophomore
MF
Isabella Lorens

#12 Isabella Lorens

5' 3"
Junior
F
Madalyn Nissen

#19 Madalyn Nissen

5' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
F/D