North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan women's soccer team experienced its first defeat of the season on Saturday, falling to the St. Cloud State Huskies by a 2-1 margin. The Wildcats now hold a 1-1 record for the season.

NMU's goal came in the 80th minute from Calihan Bearden, marking her first goal of the season and the fourth of her career. Bearden received a redirect from Angelina Perritano outside the 18-yard box and delivered a strike that the keeper could not stop. This narrowed the gap to 2-1, but NMU was unable to score again in the remaining minutes.

St. Cloud State initiated scoring in the 26th minute when Ellie Primerano converted a cross from Krysten Schuster into a goal. NMU had an opportunity to equalize in the 31st minute when Hannah Kastamo connected with L'Esperance, but a save by SCSU's keeper kept NMU off the scoreboard.

Despite trailing by one goal, NMU led in shots during the first half with a 9-3 advantage.

In the second half, NMU continued to control play but could not score as SCSU's defense remained solid. The Huskies extended their lead to 2-0 in the 67th minute through Linsey Trapino’s free kick that just evaded Jillian Thompson’s reach.

Bearden’s late goal generated momentum and created further opportunities for NMU, but they were unable to find an equalizer.

Overall, Northern Michigan led significantly in shots (18-4) and shots on goal (9-3), also securing all five corner kicks of the game. However, SCSU's Meriel Orham made eight saves out of nine attempts, playing a crucial role in handing NMU their first loss of this season.

Up Next

NMU will be back on the road next weekend to face Cedarville and Northwood at Northwood University.