Skip To Main Content

Northern Michigan University

The Official Website of the Northern Michigan Wildcats Northern Michigan Wildcats
Sam Pilgrim
Sam Pilgrim against SVSU last weekend

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

PREVIEW: Men's Soccer at Home on Saturday

The Wildcats will round out the non-conference matchup against the Jamestown Jimmies, and will have to do so without head coach Alex Fatovic and midfielder Tyler Kowalczyk.

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU men's soccer team returns home from a brief road trip to Saginaw Valley, and will play host to Jamestown University on the weekend.

The Wildcats (2-2-0, 0-0-0 GLIAC) will round out the non-conference schedule with a visit from the Jimmies (1-1-3), who are currently in its second season as an NCAA Division II program and are set to join the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) in 2027. 

Kickoff from the NMU Soccer Field is set for Saturday, September 12, at 1 p.m. ET from the scenic field on the shores of Lake Superior. Fans unable to attend in person can watch the action at flocollege.com, follow along with live stats provided by nmuwildcats.com, as well as follow the official NMU Men's Soccer social media channels. 

The Jimmies will round out a four-game road swing with a visit to the Upper Peninsula, most recently shutting out GLIAC foe St. Cloud State in a 2-0 victory in St. Cloud on Wednesday night for the first win of the 2026 campaign. 

Nuutti Norhomaa leads the Jimmies offensively, with three goals and an assist in five matches, including scoring both tallies in the 2-0 win over St. Cloud on Wednesday. Valon Ismaili has played every minute in between the pipes, holding a 1.60 GAA and .840 SV% with two clean sheets. The Jimmies have also gotten great contributions from Sohiab Bouika el Haddad Kaddour, Saif Ghodhbani, Kai Yoshida, and Justin Junaid.

The Jimmies are 1-1-1 on its early-season road trip, featuring a 2-2 tie to Colorado Mesa, a 0-4 loss to Westminster, and now a 2-0 win over St. Cloud. The Wildcats are 6-1-3 at home dating back to last season, and have not lost at the NMU Soccer Field in six straight matches.

"Once we watch the tape, we'll get a little bit more insight into who they are and what they do from a tactical standpoint," added head coach Alex Fatovic in his mid-week media availability. "This game will be their fourth game on the road at the end of a really long road trip, and we will need to take advantage of that and come out flying. 

"Our guys have played well at home and haven't lost a game in Marquette in quite a while. If we can get the crowd out on a Saturday, and it looks like we'll have nice weather, it's going to be a really nice place for our guys to come out and play well."

Looking internally, the Wildcat successes of late have been the two senior captains: goalkeeper Asaf Kristal and forward Luca Rosen.

Kristal, who set a handful of NMU men's soccer records a season ago, is making splashes in the record book again, most recently becoming the all-time program leader in saves. Kristal is also just one shutout away from tying the program record in career clean sheets, and two from standing alone at the top.

 

On the other half of the pitch, the offensive spark has been facilitated by Rosen, who has an impressive four goals (two of which are game-winning goals) and an assist for nine points in four games. Rosen sits at 13 career goals for NMU, a mark good for second in program history, and is four goals away from breaking the NMU record of career goals (Sam Popp, 2016-2018, 16 goals). Rosen also sits at 31 points coming into the weekend, a mark that is 10 away from breaking Popp's 40 career points. 

While Rosen will continue to be the focal point of the offense, head coach Fatovic is pleased with all of the Wildcat attacking options in the final third.

"We came out in a shape [against Lake Erie] that I thought was going to help [Luca] find pockets of space. But like I've said all year, there are so many other quality players up front: Sergio Cano Castro, Sam Pilgrim, Noah Preston Watkins, Joel Lutaj, Julius Lemm. All those guys in the front six are really special, so they're going to be able to keep the ball, and [Luca's] going to be able to be wide open because four or five other guys are more than competent to keep it. I think that's what is allowing us a little more freedom than maybe last year, where we're less technical in some of those areas, so it's just fantastic to see."

While it's the offense that drives goal scoring, possession usually always begins in the back, and the emergence of senior Davian Gumbs at left-back has been one of the highlights of the early season. Gumbs has started in every match and has recorded the third-most minutes of all NMU field players at 323.

"I think Davian is one that's really stood out to me, filling in for Alessandro Scialanga at left back. Following in those footsteps is a big deal, and he's been fantastic… For him to be so steady at left back with Luca at left wing gives [Luca] the freedom to go find the ball a little bit more." 

The Wildcats opened last weekend with a 3-2 win over Lake Erie in the home opener, extending its home unbeaten streak to six games dating back to last year. Rosen would add an assist to go along with his stunning game-winning goal in the second half.

"Our first home game [on Thursday] was fantastic. We came out and scored two goals in the first five minutes, and you could just see how prepared the guys were for the game plan. Then, after conceding and dealing with those down moments at the end of the first half, I thought coming out and scoring an early goal in the second half was a really good signal that they can weather adverse moments, compose themselves, and then go play [soccer], and that's what they did. And obviously, Luca is a fantastic player, and if you're going to give him a moment, he's going to score." 

The Wildcats then turned to a rare non-conference road trip to Saginaw Valley, battling to a 4-1 loss to the #6 team in the country. The 'Cats were down 2-1 with 10 minutes to go and had a couple of great chances to equalize from Cano Castro and Rosen. The leading goal scorer didn't capitalize, and then Saginaw made it 3-1 on a counter just 20 seconds later. 

Midfielder Tyler Kowalczyk and head coach Fatovic were both shown their second yellow cards just minutes later, were sent off, and the Cardinals scored its fourth with a minute to go and up a man. Both Kowalczyk and Fatovic will not be eligible for Saturday's contest due to the red cards shown on Sunday.

"I thought our guys battled the number six team in the country fantastically. We were in the match, had two clear chances to tie it in the second half, but [Saginaw] is an amazing team. They're tough, big, physical, well coached, and [head coach Louis Barrow] has done another good job recruiting another group of players that I think is capable of winning the league. Our guys were up for it, and I was really pleased with the overall effort and quality.

"We have to convert. I said it last week, the difference between two good teams is who takes their chances. Saginaw took theirs, we did not, and we lost the game. Again, really pleased with our efforts, really happy with the group; they're fantastic to work with, and we're going to get back to work this week and get ready for Saturday."


Alex Fatovic mid-week media availability





 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Davian Gumbs

#15 Davian Gumbs

D
5' 9"
Junior
Tyler Kowalczyk

#21 Tyler Kowalczyk

MF
5' 9"
Sophomore
Alessandro Scialanga

#3 Alessandro Scialanga

D
5' 11"
Senior
Asaf Kristal

#1 Asaf Kristal

GK
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

F
5' 9"
Junior
Julius Lemm

#6 Julius Lemm

MF
5' 9"
Graduate Student
Sergio Cano Castro

#7 Sergio Cano Castro

F
5' 4"
Freshman
Sam Pilgrim

#30 Sam Pilgrim

MF
6' 2"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Davian Gumbs

#15 Davian Gumbs

5' 9"
Junior
D
Tyler Kowalczyk

#21 Tyler Kowalczyk

5' 9"
Sophomore
MF
Alessandro Scialanga

#3 Alessandro Scialanga

5' 11"
Senior
D
Asaf Kristal

#1 Asaf Kristal

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
GK
Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

5' 9"
Junior
F
Julius Lemm

#6 Julius Lemm

5' 9"
Graduate Student
MF
Sergio Cano Castro

#7 Sergio Cano Castro

5' 4"
Freshman
F
Sam Pilgrim

#30 Sam Pilgrim

6' 2"
Sophomore
MF