Northern Michigan University senior midfielder Nick Metcalfe, right, battles for possession of the ball with Upper Iowa freshman forward Stan Cargill during their game at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette on Sunday. (Journal photo by Ryan Spitza)

MARQUETTE — It was an excellent Homecoming weekend for the Northern Michigan University men’s soccer team.

After winning an overtime thriller over Purdue Northwest in Friday’s GLIAC opener, the Wildcats wrapped up the weekend with another conference victory on Sunday, winning 2-0 over Upper Iowa on two second-half strikes from junior forward Vegard Ervall and freshman defender Francisco Espinoza at the NMU Soccer Field.

The win put the Wildcats at .500, sitting 3-3 overall and 2-0 in GLIAC play. The Peacocks, who joined the GLIAC for men’s soccer this season, dropped to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Friday’s overtime victory over PNW was one the Wildcats could’ve had in regulation, after scoring the first goal minutes into the match. That wasn’t the case as NMU gave up the next two goals and had to find the equalizer to reach overtime.

Closing games out was a talking point for NMU head coach David Poggi and his players going into Sunday.

“We talked about finishing, but we also talked about a lot of things,” he said. “We talked about defending, managing the game, managing Homecoming weekend…. This is the first one these guys have ever had, so for us it was kind of a whole new thing. I thought we prepared well for both sides.”

There was no shortage of physicality on Sunday, as tempers flared in the second half after two altercations resulted in yellow cards issued to NMU sophomore defender Julius Reis and junior midfielder Keegan Goetz and Upper Iowa junior forward Dylan Mientus.

Physical play led to players pushing and shoving on multiple occasions, with teammates from both sides gathering at the scene attempting to play peacekeeper.

“It’s typical of a GLIAC contest that the games are sometimes heated,” Poggi said. “I was disappointed that we kind of lost our heads a bit. When they lose their heads, that’s when we’ve got to be cool.

“I’ve got guys who probably haven’t been in that situation before, or maybe they’ve seen stuff like that on TV, but it’s not who we are. I think most of the guys were just trying to break things up.

“I’ve seen it in all my years, that if that happens, and you don’t put a stop to it, somebody is going to get hurt. And it’s not usually the guy who started the whole thing, it’s usually someone who wasn’t even involved in it. It’s not worth it.

“Going into the weekend, I was expecting to work on tactical stuff. I think maybe the excitement of being here for the weekend, and being so close to getting two good results got in our heads. We’ll make sure we’re focused for next week.”

The highlight of the match was undoubtedly Espinoza’s goal. After the Wildcats were awarded a free kick just inside the right touchline from roughly 50 yards out, Espinoza teed off from distance and put it over the head of Peacocks sophomore goalkeeper Reighley Schultz for the unassisted goal to make it 2-0 in the 65th minute. It was the first goal of his collegiate career as he shared a large embrace afterward with his mother.

“It was long distance and I think just a little misjudged (by the goalkeeper),” Poggi said. “We’ve had that happen to us, too. It’s that time of the year where people are trying different things and getting a rhythm down. I think when we see them again toward the end of the season, it won’t be any different. They’ll be better, we’ll be better and hopefully we don’t have any of that other stuff going on.”

NMU’s first tally came in the 50th minute when junior midfielder and Friday’s OT hero Luca Lippert crossed the ball from the right side and found Ervall, who headed it by Schultz for his second goal of the season. The assist capped a three-goal, one-assist weekend for Lippert.

Each team had chances in the first half, getting eight shots apiece. Upper Iowa also had two corner kicks to NMU’s one in the first half, but the teams played to a scoreless draw after 45 minutes.

Final shots were 19-12 in favor of the Wildcats. Seven of those were on goal for NMU, with Schultz stopping four in relief of Peacocks starting goalkeeper Anthony Velez, who stopped three.

NMU sophomore goalkeeper Patrick Restum went the full 90 minutes, putting aside all six shots on goal he faced.

The Wildcats finished the day with five corners to the Peacocks’ two.

NMU continues its GLIAC schedule at 7 p.m. Friday, visiting Ashland (0-5, 0-2 GLIAC) before a matinee match with Davenport (2-3, 2-0 GLIAC) at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Email Ryan Spitza at sports@miningjournal.net.