Jon Sandoval Head Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics Website
Jon Sandoval Head Coach | Northern Michigan University Athletics Website
The Northern Michigan University Wildcats women's soccer team played to a 3-3 draw against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals in their second GLIAC matchup of the weekend. The match took place in Marquette, Michigan.
Northern Michigan started strong, taking advantage of favorable wind conditions. Hannah Kastamo and Madison Bilbia each scored in the first half, giving NMU a 2-0 lead at halftime. The Wildcats outshot Saginaw Valley 7-1 during this period and maintained most of the possession, with 70% of their time on the ball spent in the attacking half.
Early in the second half, Irene Kiilunen scored for NMU, extending their lead to 3-0. However, Saginaw Valley responded with three goals in the final 33 minutes. Madi Bajis and Maddie White narrowed the gap before Emily Kolodin equalized with just one minute remaining.
Wind played a significant role throughout the game, with gusts between 20 and 30 miles per hour affecting play direction. Five of six goals were scored with the wind advantage.
"We can all talk about how the wind was a factor, but at the end of the day [our team] switched off," said head coach Erin Egolf. "We thought the game was over, we stopped connecting passes, and we stopped defending organized. We gave this game away, which is super unfortunate, because a six-point weekend would've put us in a good position going into the second half of conference."
Kastamo now leads her team with four goals and two assists this season and has extended her point streak to three games. Bilbia recorded her second goal of the season and now has points in consecutive matches. Kiilunen has scored three times in as many games from her defensive position. Addison Frantti matched Kastamo for team assists at three apiece after assisting on Buhlman's cross that led to Kastamo's opening goal. Ava Buhlman earned her first career point for NMU by assisting on that play.
The Wildcats will finish their five-game home stand next weekend when they host Michigan Tech at NMU Soccer Field; kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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