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An action shot of the player in his gold number 10 kit, dribbling a soccer ball on a green turf field. One opposing player in a white and green jersey has fallen to the turf in front of him, while another defender (number 6) watches from behind. The background features bright red stadium bleachers.
Luca Rosen dribbles around two Roosevelt Lakers during the GLIAC Semifinals match a year ago

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

PREVIEW: Men's Soccer has Lengthy Road Trip Ahead

The Wildcats travel to Chicago for a Friday match before a long bus ride to St. Cloud for Sunday clash

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- No weekend is a weekend off in the GLIAC, and the next two matches are no different for the NMU men's soccer team, as the 'Cats hit the road to face the Roosevelt Lakers and St. Cloud State Huskies to continue conference play.

The Wildcats (4-2-1, 1-0-1 GLIAC) begin the long road trip with a matchup in Chicago, as the team will play the Roosevelt Lakers (4-0-2, 2-0-0 GLIAC) at Morris Field on Friday, September 25, at 4 p.m. ET. NMU then embarks on a seven-hour bus ride northwest and turns its attention to the St. Cloud State Huskies (2-5-0, 1-3-0 GLIAC) for a Sunday afternoon match at 3 p.m. ET on September 27.

Fans can stream both matches through FloCollege, follow along with live stats on nmuwildcats.com, and subscribe to the official NMU Men's Soccer social media channels for match-day updates.

The 'Cats are coming off another historic weekend for the program, as the Wildcats opened GLIAC play by defeating the #5 Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 2-1 on the road thanks to a last-minute winner delivered by Ian Weimer and Luca Rosen.

"Unbelievable result," added head coach Alex Fatovic during his weekly media availability. "I mean, you don't really plan to go down to Saginaw and get three points. So, in the long run, it was [a] massive [result]. But, I think the biggest thing for us was that we went down there, and there were some things we needed to fix, and the guys did it in training. We focused on it, and then you could see very early on that they were following the game plan to a T, and the first half really showed. We had a deserved lead, but Saginaw were really, really good. They're a very, very good team, and they dominated the second half for large portions. The goal was kind of weird; there were like four blocks, and it hit the bar, and it went off James [Carr] in the end, and it was just kind of like a hockey goal. That's what happens on the road, and I think our guys learned a really valuable lesson. I was ready to pack it in and get a draw, [and then we got] a piece of magic from Rosen and Weimer to get the win. So, Incredible result."

The Wildcats then turned in a 1-1 draw to Davenport, as Luca Rosen scored to become the all-time program leading point-getter, surpassing Sam Popp's 40-point total to stand alone once again. Despite the "poor result on paper", head coach Fatovic was still pleased with his team's performance on the road, saying "four points on the road in the GLIAC to open the conference season is just tremendous."

And there is a point in that. The GLIAC is having one of its strongest years, and the Wildcats find themselves firmly in the mix thanks to crucial results early in the season.

At the time of writing, five of the top six teams in the region (using the NPI system) are teams from the GLIAC. Roosevelt sits atop the NPI rankings and is receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches national poll, followed by Saginaw Valley, Northern Michigan, and Parkside. Lake Erie, whom the 'Cats defeated 3-2 at the start of the year, are fifth in the NPI ranks, and Purdue Northwest are in sixth.

At this point in time, anyone could win the conference, and the team knows how important every result can be, regardless of the team you are up against.

"Yeah, [the GLIAC is] wide open. There's five teams that could win it right now, so it's very strong... It's going to be tough to win, but it's wide open for everybody, which means I think we're going to get a few teams in the NCAA tournament. We only have seven teams in our conference, so if you get three teams out of seven, that's almost 50%. That's a pretty strong league. Saginaw, as I said earlier, it's their league to lose, but Roosevelt's undefeated and number one in the region right now. So, it's tough to sort of pinpoint a favorite at this point."

The Wildcats have found a lot of success in recent memory: a trip to the NCAA Tournament, a GLIAC Tournament Championship, and the rights to host a GLIAC postseason game, all of which were program firsts a season ago. Just like the student-athletes on the pitch, coaching staffs learn lessons as well, taking note week to week and over the course of a season.

Last year, the Wildcats beat No. 17 Saginaw Valley State 1-0 in Marquette. A momentus win, guiding the team to a historic win and just two losses in the first nine games of the season. Head coach Fatovic gave his team an extra rest day, noting his team felt they were "at the top". What followed was a winless streak of four games as the team took its foot off the gas. NMU then turned it back on, firing off six straight wins en route to being crowned GLIAC Champions and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. 

Those lessons learned from the doldrums of 2025 have been the guiding focus for the Wildcats' path to success in 2026, and coach Fatovic noted that the returners from that championship team are the ones driving the culture.

"We know that we can't take our foot off the gas now. There isn't a day off. Even though today is a typical second rest day for guys that were playing 90 minutes, we're still going to get after it. It's just day by day, and we don't try to look ahead too much. Right now, it's all about Roosevelt on Friday, and then we'll turn our attention to St. Cloud on Sunday... There's only a month left; it's really not that much time. We demand a lot, and at the same time, they're now demanding a lot more... They're the ones that are driving the culture, so to be fair, I don't really have to do much to keep them motivated. I think they're doing that themselves."

When looking one game at a time, NMU first meets the Roosevelt Lakers, who are currently leading the region. At 4-0-2 overall and 3-0-1 at home to start 2026, the Lakers have kept four clean sheets and have only been scored on twice during the regular season, both 1-1 draws to Upper Iowa and Lake Erie. The Lakers are now eligible for NCAA Tournament competition for the first time since making the transition from NAIA to Division II.

Fynn Mewes (6-1--13) is averaging a goal per game and is third in the conference in points, including matching Rosen with three game-winning goals. Mewes and Matt Goulding swept the GLIAC Player of the Week honors last week, as Goulding earned the honor as he anchored the entire Laker defense to 1-0 and 2-0 wins over Parkside and Purdue Northwest, allowing just eight shots on goal.

You can't look past teams in the GLIAC, and Friday's match is no different.

"[Roosevelt] is a fantastic team... They keep the ball and are a very possession-oriented team, so I think you're going to see a similar matchup to Lake Erie versus a very direct game like against Saginaw... They're just a very talented team... They're hungry and are leading the region. It is going to be another tough Friday game for us, and our guys will be up for it. I know it."





 
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Players Mentioned

Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

F
5' 9"
Junior
Ian Weimer

#20 Ian Weimer

F
6' 3"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

5' 9"
Junior
F
Ian Weimer

#20 Ian Weimer

6' 3"
Sophomore
F