Skip To Main Content

Northern Michigan University

The Official Website of the Northern Michigan Wildcats Northern Michigan Wildcats
Madalyn Nissen
Captain Madalyn Nissen

Women's Soccer Jack Belcher - Athletics Communications Assistant

PREVIEW: Women’s Soccer on the Road for Crucial In-Region Matches

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU women's soccer team is on the road for a crucial weekend of play, traveling to Cedarville, Ohio, for two in-region matchups, taking on the Cedarville Yellowjackets and the Northwood Timberwolves. 

On opening weekend, the 'Cats won both its home games at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette, Michigan, defeating #16 St. Cloud State 3-2 in stunning comeback fashion, and scrapping out a win against Minnesota Duluth, defeating the Bulldogs 2-1 with a late game-winner from Addison Frantti. 

"Last week we talked about the importance of that first weekend and the standard that it sets, and coming away with six points off that first weekend is amazing," added head coach Erin Egolf in her weekly media availability. "Seeing the fight and the determination from the team [over the weekend was awesome]. It would have been really easy for us to put our heads down, especially on that Friday game going down 2-0. We had a great response and a great belief, and we were able to come back; then we turned it around against Duluth, scoring in the first 40 seconds. Both teams put us under a lot of pressure, so these were opponents that created scenarios for us that we're going to see throughout the course of the season, which was excellent. 

"I don't think we're playing our best soccer yet. I think there's still a lot for us that can still be achieved from a soccer aspect. So if we're winning games and we're not at our best yet, we'll absolutely take that. Two wins in the first weekend is fantastic."

Thanks to strong performances over the weekend, the 'Cats enter the new week fourth in the Midwest Region, behind Grand Valley State, Ashland, and McKendree. The Wildcats will look to continue its success against two strong regional opponents in the first road games of the season. 

The 'Cats are set to open its road schedule in Cedarville, Ohio, against Cedarville University at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 3rd, at the Yellow Jacket Soccer Complex. Entering the weekend, the Yellow Jackets were tabbed sixth in the Midwest Region. 

The 'Cats will remain in Cedarville to take on the Northwood Timberwolves at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 5th, playing the Timberwolves in a neutral-site contest at the Yellow Jacket Soccer Complex.

Fans can watch both games on FloCollege, follow along with live stats provided through nmuwildcats.com, and subscribe to the official NMU Women's Soccer social media accounts for continued coverage throughout the weekend.

Entering the weekend, Head Coach Egolf acknowledged that, despite the wins against top-tier competition, there would be room for improvement heading into a week of difficult and physical games. 

"I think both games we played this weekend were extremely physical, and I think that's something we're going to have to adapt to a little bit more and just have a willingness to lean into that. I think we got bullied physically in some instances, especially in the second half of our Duluth game, so we're going to have to stand a little bit taller and understand that physicality is going to be shown by a lot of teams in our conference.

"If we play well, [the games this weekend] are winnable, and if we don't, we'll come home with no points. You have to show up each and every game and perform and bring your best, and when you can't find your best, you have to work through that and make sure it doesn't happen for long lapses of the game. 

I think that's what we learned this past weekend, and we can take that into the course of the rest of our season… We're all super excited to get on the road, face two really good in-region opponents and hopefully come home with some points as we enter the conference the following weekend."

The Cedarville Yellow Jackets entered the season picked to finish second in the G-MAC conference, according to the Preseason Coaches Poll, and enter the weekend ranked sixth in the Midwest Region. Forward Ella Webb returns for her Junior year after being selected to last season's NCCAA All-American team and will look to propel a strong attacking core for the Yellow Jackets. 

Head Coach Jonathan Meade has been with the Yellow Jackets since 2016 and has led the team to the NCAA tournament four of the last five seasons, including defeating Grand Valley in penalty kicks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season and winning a national championship in 2019 when the squad competed in the NCCAA National Tournament. 

The team has also had sustained success in the G-MAC Tournament. Last season, the team went 12-3-7 overall, including a 9-1-4 conference record. The Yellow Jackets would ultimately lose to #4 Maryville on penalties in the second round of the NCAA tournament. 

The Yellow Jackets split its opening two games, which were both on the road, winning the season opener 1-0 against Lewis on a goal from Evania McCandless. Cedarville then dropped its second contest 3-1 to Grand Valley State.

"Both teams are coming off great seasons last year, and Cedarville especially. Stepping into that one will certainly be a big challenge straight away. They're always a solid team and well coached, and we'll probably see a little bit different style from them than we saw in these first two teams, so there's that adaptability piece that we're going to have to find our feet early and make sure that we're not changing too much away from who we are, but playing to what they give us."

The Wildcats will then take on the Northwood University Timberwolves in a neutral-site game in Cedarville, Ohio. 

Northwood was picked to finish fourth in the G-MAC conference according to the Preseason Coaches Poll. The Timberwolves are coming off a 11-3-6 season with a 7-2-5 record in the GMAC and an NCAA Tournament appearance, falling out in the first round against #4 Maryville (MO) a season ago. 

The Timberwolves return last season's leading scorer, Mari Jackson, who scored six goals in 2025. In addition, Northwood returns multiple pieces from its strong defense last season, including Annaliese Sabo and Jenna D'Alimonte. 

The Timberwolves have had a rocky start to 2026, dropping both the first two games of the campaign at home against Wayne State and SVSU. The Timberwolves lost 2-0 against the Warriors and 4-1 against SVSU. It's a GLIAC weekend for the 'Wolves, taking on Michigan Tech on Thursday before NMU on Saturday. While struggling early, head coach Egolf knows not to underestimate the opposition, as the Timberwolves will be eager to return to last season's stellar form. 

"Northwood, you know, they were coming off a good season. I think they've had a little bit of a tougher start to the season, but playing away isn't easy. Traveling 10 hours and being on the road for that long isn't easy. So, there's a different component to the games this weekend. I think we have a lot of momentum right now; the girls are in a really good place, and if we can clean up a few things, I'm very confident going into these two games."








 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Addison Frantti

#6 Addison Frantti

F
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Addison Frantti

#6 Addison Frantti

5' 5"
Freshman
F