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Northern Michigan University women’s soccer team posts 3rd straight shutout by downing Purdue Northwest in Superior Dome

Caroline Halonen

MARQUETTE — The women’s soccer team from Northern Michigan University ran its unbeaten and its scoreless streak to three games Friday with a 6-0 whitewash of Purdue Northwest in the Superior Dome on Friday.

The latest shutout follows a scoreless double-overtime tie vs. GLIAC leader Ferris State the previous Friday and a 1-0 victory over Northwood on Sunday.

Depending on how the standings are interpreted, the Wildcats are in second, third or fourth place in the GLIAC at 5-2-1. NMU is listed second behind Ferris State (6-0-1) by the points it’s accumulated in the points rating system, but are third in points per game behind Ashland, which has a 5-1 record, and fourth in actual winning percentage, also behind Grand Valley State (3-0-1).

In another sport, volleyball, where league teams didn’t all play the same number of games, the points-per-game number was used for conference seeding. In the case of women’s soccer, that would currently put Northern third.

The Wildcats have one more opportunity to improve their position with their final regular season game against Wisconsin-Parkside (0-5-2) at 4 p.m. Sunday in the dome. Meanwhile, Ashland was scheduled to play at Grand Valley on Friday evening as Ashland has more matches on Sunday and Thursday and GVSU a match next Friday.

Shenae Kreps

The GLIAC tournament starts with quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, April 27, according to the NMU sports website, www.nmuwildcats.com.

In the dome on Friday, things were much more clear cut as the Wildcats scored in the 17th and 29th minutes of the first half for a 2-0 halftime lead.

Sophomore Brenda Musser became only the second NMU player with multiple goals this season as she opened the scoring. During an attempted clearing of the ball, PNW goalkeeper Leonie Heck let the ball bounce too far away and Musser intercepted it and knocked it in the net for an unassisted goal, according to an account from NMU.

Northern freshman Caitlyn Trombley made it 2-0 exactly 12 1/2 minutes later as the last recipient of back-to-back passes that began with senior Isabela Cardoso before going to freshman Brooke Pietila. Trombley kicked it over the goalie and into the left side of the goal.

The Wildcats needed just 31 seconds to score again at the start of the second half. An NMU throw-in went to senior Andrea Sekloch, who kicked it immediately to junior Caroline Halonen, who knocked it in from the left side for her seventh goal of the season.

Allie Jones

Halonen made it two in a row for a 4-0 NMU lead less than 15 minutes later. Cardoso brought the ball into the left side of the box, then passed to Halonen, who was centered about 10 feet back from the goalmouth. The latter kicked it over the PNW goalie’s head and into the right side of the net.

Following an own goal knocked in by the Pride with about 16 minutes left, Northern freshman Maggie Kastamo took a shot from 11 yards out, which hit the post and bounced in with barely more than a minute remaining.

Game statistics were as lopsided as the score as NMU held a 24-4 advantage in shots, including 14-1 in the first half. Northern also had an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal while taking eight corner kicks to none for PNW.

Halonen and Trombley each took four shots, while Musser and Sekloch had three apiece and Pietila two.

Junior Shenae Kreps started in the NMU goal and worked nearly 56 minutes, with senior Allie Jones working the balance. Kreps made two saves and Jones one to split honors for the shutout.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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