North Michigan News

With five regular-season games remaining before the GLIAC tournament, the Northern Michigan University women's soccer team is preparing for important away matches against Grand Valley State and Ferris State.

The Wildcats currently hold a 3-6-4 overall record and are 3-5-1 in conference play. They enter this stretch after consecutive losses to Saginaw Valley and Davenport, marking their first back-to-back weekend defeats of the season. The team has not scored in its last three matches.

Grand Valley State, ranked fifth nationally and leading both the GLIAC and Midwest region, comes into Friday's match with a 10-2-0 overall record and a 7-1-0 mark in conference play. Last weekend, Grand Valley experienced its first conference loss of the season to Parkside but rebounded with a win over Roosevelt.

Ferris State stands just above NMU in the GLIAC standings with a 4-4-5 overall record and a 4-3-2 conference record. The Bulldogs recently split their weekend results, losing to Purdue Northwest before defeating Parkside. Ferris holds a four-point lead over NMU in the current rankings.

Northern Michigan will face Grand Valley on Friday, October 24 at 5:00 p.m., followed by Ferris State on Sunday, October 26 at 1:00 p.m. Fans can follow updates via @NMU_wsoc on Instagram and @NMU_wsoccer on X (formerly Twitter).

Reflecting on recent challenges, Coach Egolf said: "We have to be adaptable as a team, and we have to play to what the defense gives us.. Trying to find that right decision has been something we've talked about a lot. Decision-making in the game of soccer makes or breaks your game, and then it's the quality after that."

In their last outing against Saginaw Valley, NMU's defense held strong but ultimately conceded four goals while recording ten saves compared to SVSU's one. The Wildcats also had more corner kicks than their opponent but were unable to score.

Against Davenport, NMU outshot their opponent 18 to 3 and led in corner kicks but lost by a single goal scored late in the match.

Looking ahead at their opponents, Grand Valley features Sarah Fromm—who leads the GLIAC in game-winning goals and shots on goal—and goalkeeper Macie Hunter who tops the league in goals against average, shutouts, and saves. In past meetings between Northern Michigan and Grand Valley, NMU has won twice—the most recent victory coming in 2023.

Ferris State is third in the GLIAC standings. Northern Michigan currently holds a six-game winning streak over Ferris State; their last meeting ended with NMU winning narrowly by one goal. Ferris’s Katherine Welch ranks second in shots taken within the conference while goalkeeper Korinne Ihrke is second for both saves and goals against average.