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Northern Michigan University

The Official Website of the Northern Michigan Wildcats Northern Michigan Wildcats
Noah Girard wins a header
Noah Girard wins a header for the Wildcats
1
Northern Mich. NMU (2-2-0, 0-0-0)
4
Winner Saginaw Valley SVSU (2-0-2, 0-0-0)
Northern Mich. NMU
(2-2-0, 0-0-0)
1
Final
4
Saginaw Valley SVSU
(2-0-2, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northern Mich. NMU 1 0 1
Saginaw Valley SVSU 2 2 4

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

Wildcats Fall to #6 Cardinals on the Road

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- The NMU men's soccer team dropped a tight battle against the #6 Saginaw Valley State Cardinals in its penultimate non-conference matchup.

The Wildcats (2-2-0, 0-0-0 GLIAC) got a goal from senior captain Luca Rosen, who added his fourth goal of the year from an indirect free kick at the top of the six-yard box. Sam Pilgrim picked up his first point in a Wildcat jersey, setting up the Rosen tally.

The #6 Cardinals (2-0-2, 0-0-0 GLIAC) would end its non-conference slate undefeated, getting goals from Amadou Kouyate and a penalty conversion from Adrian Hatman before two goals in the final 10 minutes from Matty Tefler.

The Wildcats trailed 2-1 at the 80th minute mark and had a quality chance to equalize. Rosen was denied at point-blank by goalkeeper Nick Kay, then just 20 seconds later, Tefler would tally his first of the game, and the Cardinals were ahead 3-1. 

Midfielder Tyler Kowalczyk and head coach Alex Fatovic were both shown their second yellow cards with six minutes to play, were escorted from the field, and Tefler would add his second in the dying moments of the match as the Cardinals were up a man.

Goalkeeper Asaf Kristal made four saves in his 90 minutes of action, all of which came in the opening eight minutes of the second half, keeping his team within one. The 'Cats also got 90 minutes from James Carr and Noah Girard, with Marcos Gallardo Rozano playing 89.

For the match, the Cardinals had the upper hand in shots (12-7), shots on target (8-3), and corners (6-1). Both teams were issued four yellow cards and called for nine common fouls.

The Wildcats now look to finish the non-conference schedule with a home contest against the University of Jamestown on Saturday, September 12, at 1 p.m. ET from the NMU Soccer Field.  

How It Happened
The Cardinals opened the scoring just under 10 minutes into the contest, as Amadou Kouyate received a pass from Adrian Hatman to go one-on-one against Kristal, and he beat the Wildcat keeper to the far post despite Kristal coming out to cut down the angle. 

Goalkeeper Nick Kay picked up a ball played back to him by one of his defenders, and the Wildcats were awarded an indirect free kick after Kay was shown a yellow card in the six-yard box. Sam Pilgrim made the ball live with a little touch forward, and Luca Rosen decisively smashed it into the net, and the game was even halfway through the opening frame.

At this point in the game, both teams had registered three shots and one on target, with both teams scoring on its only chance on frame. 

The Cardinals were awarded a penalty, and Hatman would add a goal to go with his assist from earlier in the half. As the halftime whistle blew, the counting stats were relatively even: SVSU had five shots with two on target to the 'Cats four attempts and two on frame; both teams were shown two yellow cards, and the Cardinals were whistled for seven fouls to NMU's four.

Asaf Kristal played phenomenally to open the second half, making four saves and keeping his team within one. Rosen then fired away three straight shots of his own, and capped that off with a clean chance to draw the game level from just inside the box that was saved by Kay. The Cardinals then turned the other direction and got a goal from Matty Telfer just 20 seconds later, and the Cardinals were up 3-1 with 10 minutes to play.

Tyler Kowalczyk received his second yellow card of the day and was shown a red card, and the Wildcats were down to 10 men with six minutes to play. Moments later, head coach Fatovic was also booked a second yellow card, and both the midfielder and head coach were escorted from the game. 

Telfer added his second of the game with just under two minutes to play as the Cardinals were up a man, ending the game at 4-1.




 
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