North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan University women's soccer team will continue its home stand this weekend with matches against Ferris State and Saginaw Valley, both members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

Currently, the Wildcats hold a 2-3-3 overall record and are 2-2-0 in conference play. The team sits just one point behind third-place Ferris State and is one win ahead of sixth-place Saginaw Valley in the GLIAC standings.

Ferris State enters Friday's match with a 2-1-4 overall record and remains unbeaten in conference play at 2-0-1. The Bulldogs have recently shown strong defensive performances, allowing only five goals this season. Their goalkeeper, Korinne Ihrke, leads the conference among goalkeepers who have played at least five games in fewest goals allowed per game and save percentage. Katherine Welch and Grace Sampson have been key offensive contributors for Ferris State.

Northern Michigan has maintained an unbeaten streak against Ferris State over their last seven meetings, with six wins and one draw. The last home loss to Ferris occurred on September 23, 2018.

On Sunday, NMU will face Saginaw Valley (3-3-1 overall; 1-2-0 GLIAC). Senior midfielder Madi Bajis leads SVSU in scoring and ranks first in the conference for goals. Emily Koldin has also contributed offensively with points in her last two games. Goalkeeper Lainey Garbarz is second in the league for saves and minutes played.

NMU has not lost to Saginaw Valley at home since October 25, 2019, remaining unbeaten in their last four encounters.

Reflecting on recent performances, head coach Erin Egolf commented: "[Looking at our first match this weekend], Ferris is going to be a good side, a we're going to have to play well again. We're going to have to match physicality and be organized defensively if we want to have success [this weekend]."

After a loss to Grand Valley State University last week where goalkeeper Carly Sides made a career-high 11 saves despite conceding four goals, Egolf noted her team's response: "When you lose 4-0, I think you can go one of two directions; you can pout and be bummed and let that start a chain of events that gets worse and worse and snowballs, or you can step up and do something about it. Our girls came back to practice on Saturday ready to go, and our game plan for Davenport was carried out really well."

In their following game against Davenport, NMU earned its first conference win of the season with a 4-0 victory. Irene Killunen scored twice while Hannah Kastamo and Addison Frantti each added a goal and an assist. Carly Sides recorded her first career shutout by saving all five shots on target.

Egolf addressed the team's ongoing challenge: "This all goes back to our consistency. We've seen really good moments and good games, and really poor moments and games we don't play as well, and we need to find a way to close that gap."

Friday’s match will feature Plaidurday promotions encouraging fans to wear plaid attire. Sunday's game will celebrate Youth Sports Day by inviting local youth soccer programs from Marquette.

Fans can follow updates through NMU women’s soccer social media accounts on Instagram (@NMU_wsoccer) or X (formerly Twitter) (@NMU_wsoccer), as well as live streaming options for both matches.