North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) women's soccer team concluded its 2025 regular season with a 1-0 win against Purdue Northwest Pride in Hammond, Indiana. The victory secured all three conference points for the Wildcats, who finished the regular season with a record of 6-7-5 overall and 6-6-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

The only goal of the match came from Kenna Alexander, who scored after capitalizing on a set piece delivered by Irene Kiilunen. This marked Alexander's second consecutive game-winning goal and her fourth goal in the last four games. Her recent performance has moved her into a tie for the team lead in goals.

During the first half, NMU held a slight edge with six shots to Purdue Northwest’s four and maintained a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. In the second half, NMU continued to press, recording eight shots to their opponent’s three and earning three more corner kicks.

Goalkeeper Jillian Thompson contributed three saves to secure back-to-back shutouts for NMU. She allowed only one goal over the final three matches of the season. Defenders Addison Wargo, Ava Buhlman, Kenna Alexander, and Irene Kiilunen each played all ninety minutes to help preserve the clean sheet. Gretchen Ellis and Madalyn Nissen also logged significant playing time with over eighty minutes each.

With this win, NMU will finish fifth in the GLIAC standings and will travel to face the fourth-seeded team for their opening postseason match on Tuesday, November 11. The outcome of other league games will determine their exact opponent.

For Purdue Northwest Pride, their postseason hopes hinge on Saturday’s results as they remain eighth in conference standings with nine points. Their playoff fate will be decided based on their performance against Michigan Tech Huskies.

"