Skip To Main Content

Northern Michigan University

The Official Website of the Northern Michigan Wildcats Northern Michigan Wildcats
Davian Gumbs
Davian Gumbs last season against PNW in the GLIAC Quarterfinal matchup

Men's Soccer Jack Belcher - Athletics Communications Assistant

PREVIEW: Men’s Soccer Enters GLIAC Homestand

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU men's soccer team will be back in Marquette this weekend to take on GLIAC opponents, the Purdue Northwest Lions and Parkside Rangers. 

The match against the Lions takes place on Friday, October 2, at 3 p.m. ET, followed by the match against the Rangers on Sunday, October 4, at 12 p.m. ET. Both fixtures will be held at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette, Michigan.

"We knocked [Purdue Northwest] out of the tournament last year, so you can bet they're going to be coming for us," added head coach Alex Fatovic in his weekly media availability. "And then you've got a big game with Parkside on Sunday. Both very good [teams]… it should be a great weekend."

The Wildcats enter the weekend receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national poll, the only GLIAC school to be receiving votes or in the top-25 through September 29. NMU was also voted third in the Midwest region in the coaches poll, and is second in the region in NPI rankings, sitting only behind Saginaw Valley State.

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

The Wildcats (5-2-2, 2-0-2 GLIAC) are coming off a strong weekend road trip where they drew Roosevelt 1-1, a team that had accumulated ranked votes, then they beat St. Cloud State in a dominant 4-0 victory. Notably, Luca Rosen's two record-breaking goals for NMU earned him the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season and the fourth time in his career.

The 'Cats are coming off a four-game road stretch that saw the Green and Gold secure two draws against top competition Roosevelt and GLIAC foe Davenport, beat St. Cloud State comfortably, and upset top-10 opponent SVSU to avenge its earlier non-conference loss. The team looks to continue building momentum as the 'Cats return home for the weekend. 

Against Roosevelt, the headline was Luca Rosen scoring his 10th goal of the season, equaling NMU's single-season record. At the time, the Lakers led the GLIAC and were unbeaten. Coach Fatovic's comments after the game added his disappointment but expressed pride in a strong result against a top team. 

In the match, the Cats struck first with a Luca Rosen header in the 60th minute, but the Lakers quickly equalized by capitalizing on a fortunate bounce. Despite multiple Wildcat chances, including striking the crossbar, the 'Cats were unable to take 3 points out of the match. Fatovic added, "Disappointed not to get the full 3 points after scoring in the second half and leading; however, extremely proud of their efforts. We played fantastic."

The Wildcats carried that momentum into its match against St. Cloud on Sunday, where NMU controlled the match, winning 4-0 to round out the weekend. The headline once again was Rosen, whose 11th goal of the season broke NMU's single-season goalscoring record.  

The Purdue Northwest Lions were picked to finish 6th in the GLIAC Preseason Poll, receiving 11 points, just ahead of last-placed St. Cloud's 7 points. Despite that, the Lions have had a strong start to the season, entering the weekend at 5-1-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the GLIAC. 

In its most recent home stand, the Lions drew Saginaw Valley State 0-0 and beat Davenport 1-0, showcasing superb defense.
 
Luke Dunn returns to lead the Lions for his fourth season. The team went 3-12-1 in a difficult season last year, and 7-9-2 the year prior. In the 2023 season, he led the Pride to a 10-4-4 record, including a GLIAC tournament championship and the program's first-ever appearance in the national tournament, where they fell 1-0 in the first round. The team looks to continue the hot start in hopes of replicating its results in 2023 and avenging its tournament loss on PK's the last time there was a match played against NMU in Marquette. 

When asked about the matchup against Purdue, head coach Fatovic added, "They don't really concede.", as evident by the team only allowing six goals through eight games, the second fewest in the conference behind Roosevelt.

"[Purdue is a] very organized team. They play Wednesday against Parkside, so I think we've got the advantage on Friday to really get after them. They've got to travel up here, we play really well at home, and it's a GLIAC game. It's going to be a battle, right? And so we're now at home. Let's take advantage of it."

The Parkside Rangers enter this weekend's contest 3-4-1 and 1-2-1 in GLIAC play. The Rangers were projected to finish 4th in the GLIAC preseason polls and are currently underperforming expectations early in the season. Most recently, Parkside dropped a 3-2 thriller to Davenport and drew 0-0 with Saginaw Valley State.

Head Coach Jason Zitzke enters his 16th season with the Rangers and has spent a total of 27 seasons on the coaching staff. Parkside has reached five NCAA Tournaments in his tenure and achieved a tournament victory in 2022 under his leadership. The team has been known for its productive offensive output for years, and looks to return to its best after struggling in the past few seasons. 

Last season, the Rangers defeated NMU in  Marquette 3-1 and drew the reverse fixture. NMU will look to reverse last season's performances. With Sunday being youth day at the pitch, head coach Fatovic says a good community showing will help get the team the results it's after.

"We just want the community out. If we have a big crowd, I think our guys will be up for it."

Alex Fatovic Weekly Media Availability - 9/29/2026

 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

F
5' 7"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

5' 7"
Senior
F