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Sergio Cano Castro

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

PREVIEW: Men's Soccer Opens GLIAC Play

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU men's soccer team is set to open its 2026 GLIAC conference slate of matches, starting with a pair of games on the road.

The Wildcats play the #5 Saginaw Valley State Cardinals and the Davenport Panthers to open the GLIAC slate. NMU plays SVSU on Friday, September 18, at 2 p.m. ET, and Davenport on Sunday, September 20, at 12 p.m. ET. Fans can livestream the matches at FloCollege and follow along with live stats at nmuwildcats.com, as well as follow the official NMU women's soccer social media channels.

The Wildcats (3-2-0, 0-0-0 GLIAC) enter the weekend coming off an exclamation point to end the non-conference schedule, posting a 7-1 win over Jamestown in a historic evening from the NMU Soccer Field.

Senior captain Luca Rosen became the program's all-time leading scorer thanks to the first four-goal performance in men's soccer history. After the weekend, Rosen brought his season totals to eight goals and an assist for 17 points, and he leads the nation in goals and points.

Along with Rosen's successes, the 'Cats got standout performances from forwards Sergio Cano Castro (one goal, three assists) and Ian Weimer (three assists), with the first Wildcat appearance from redshirt-freshman transfer Carson Shene.

"Obviously, Rosen was the star of the show," added head coach Alex Fatovic during his weekly media availability. "But some other guys really broke out and had some really big days: Sergio Cano Castro, Ian Weimer had his best game of the season, the guys in the back were good, and we got to see Carson [Shene] in goal for the first time. So, it was a great day overall, and a great way to end non-conference. I was pleased with the overall effort."

NMU now goes back to a familiar site to open conference play, traveling to University Center for the second of three regular-season meetings between the Wildcats and the #5 Saginaw Valley State Cardinals.

The Cardinals (2-0-2, 0-0-0 GLIAC) are hosting the Davenport Panthers at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16 to open the GLIAC calendar before welcoming the 'Cats on Friday, September 18.

The Wildcats played the Cardinals in a non-conference meeting just a weekend ago, a 4-1 loss that was just a 2-1 game entering the final 10 minutes of the match. Fatovic says that experience last weekend will be very beneficial to finding success this weekend.

"Going down to Saginaw and having that experience last week was all about our preparation for this Friday and playing them again. We were focused on how we didn't do so well against Saginaw earlier last week, and then we focused on the [Jamestown] match, and now we're back to focusing on trying to break down Saginaw and get a result on Friday in a big match... I think it's going to be a completely different game than what we just played on Saturday in terms of the style, but now we have a little bit more understanding of what it's really going to take to try to get some results down there.

"I think what we have to do is not give them any opportunities. I think [last weekend] we gave them their first goal, and even though the penalty was a little bit soft on their second goal, there were three or four moments where we could have stopped the sequence of play in that buildup before the ball was served. So I think for us it's almost like we have to go and basically give no errors. It's got to be kind of a perfect game. Just not give them anything, and then when we have a moment we got to take our chance. I think that's the difference. So if we can not set them anything and give them a lead and give them openings, then I think we're going to be in the game."

The Wildcats will then focus its attention on Davenport (1-2-2, 0-0-0 GLIAC), who are playing Saginaw in that same game at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16, to open its GLIAC calendar.

There have been a lot of tight meetings between the Wildcats and Panthers in recent years, as NMU is 2-2-6 against Davenport in the last 10 meetings, with the Panthers holding a narrow edge in the goal differential at +2.

At the beginning of the season, head coach Fatovic noted that his depth up front will be one of the keys to success in 2026. After a successful offensive outing from numerous players on Saturday, Fatovic is excited to see what his team can do on the ball in the final third this weekend.

"I think we've got a really, really good attack. We've got some guys up front that are great, our central midfield, and our outside backs are fantastic. So, if they want to double team Rosen and leave somebody else open, then I'm happy for them to do that. Rosen's obviously a good player. I think he was well known throughout the region before this year, and now there's a lot more tape on him, and we're going to be in conference. He's going to get double-teamed, he's going to get fouled, but I think he's used to that and understands that. This is where other guys need to step up and take those opportunities, and I think they will. I think they did a good job of that the other day." 






 
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Players Mentioned

Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

F
5' 9"
Junior
Ian Weimer

#20 Ian Weimer

F
6' 3"
Sophomore
Sergio Cano Castro

#7 Sergio Cano Castro

F
5' 4"
Freshman
Carson Shene

#33 Carson Shene

GK
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

5' 9"
Junior
F
Ian Weimer

#20 Ian Weimer

6' 3"
Sophomore
F
Sergio Cano Castro

#7 Sergio Cano Castro

5' 4"
Freshman
F
Carson Shene

#33 Carson Shene

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
GK