The Wildcats improved to 3-2-1 overall with a 4-2 victory over Upper Iowa and a 3-0 win past St. Cloud State.

This week, NMU puts its 2-0 GLIAC record on the line on the road, playing at Hammond, Indiana, against Purdue Northwest at 3 p.m. Friday and in Grand Rapids to face Davenport at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Here is a rundown of last week’s matches:

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Northern Michigan University freshman Tomasso Lami, center, works the ball against Indianapolis in a men's soccer game played at the NMU Soccer Field on Sept. 4. (Photo courtesy NMU)

NMU 4, Upper Iowa 2

On Friday at the NMU Soccer Field, freshmen accounted for all of Northern’s scoring after the visiting Peacocks established a 2-0 halftime lead.

Frider Blunck scored both of UIU’s goals in the 16th and 41st minutes. Despite that, Northern led in total shots 9-2 and corner kicks by a whopping margin of 10-0 in the opening half.

But exactly eight minutes into the second half, Jan Hoffman finally broke through for NMU with his first goal on a penalty kick. Less than a minute later, Isaac Ward nearly tied it, but his shot hit the post.

However, just over 11 minutes after Hoffmann’s tally, Tomasso Lami recorded his first of back-to-back goals, this one also on a penalty kick for his first goal.

Less than 10 minutes after that in the 74th minute, Lami gave the Wildcats the lead off a beautiful sidestep goal, according to an account from NMU Sports Information. Cian Tunney earned an assist.

Yet another freshman, Baruc Delgado, notched his third goal of the season for insurance with 3:16 remaining as he beat the goalkeeper to the far side as Tunney again got an assist.

“I’m very proud of the performance of the team because we showed that we’ll never give up,” Lami said in an NMU release about the game. “Being down two goals, we worked together and with passion and organization, we turned the game around proving that we are a very tough team to beat. I’m very happy for my first brace and I hope that will be the first of many.”

For the game, NMU held a 20-2 shots advantage and took all 11 corner kicks.

“Finally the emphatic win we have been looking for after creating so many chances in our first five games,” Northern coach Alex Fatovic said. “… For us to fall down 2-0 like that was unacceptable in how we play, especially when we prepared for it.

“However, with a few adjustments and our strong team culture, we knew it was a matter of time until we broke through. What a fantastic offensive four-goal effort to start 1-0 in the GLIAC.”

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NMU 3, St. Cloud State 0

On Sunday at the NMU Soccer Field, Tunney turned his assisting prowess into goal scoring by putting the Wildcats on the scoreboard barely eight minutes into the game.

It followed several early shots by NMU, including one by him, before he utilized his footwork for a beautiful goal as he side-stepped a defender, according to NMU SI. Hoffman and Quinn Putt earned assists as Putt was credited for a great lead pass.

The score remained that way until halftime. Then barely seven minutes past the break, Lami scored his third goal of the weekend, dancing around one defender, weaving through the next and working his way left around the goalkeeper to score on an open net. Tunney got his third assist of the weekend on the play.

Northern added final insurance with less than 16 minutes to go on Triston Nelson’s first collegiate goal after he knocked in a rebound following a header by teammate Dylan Woods that was stopped.

For the day, the Wildcats held a 10-2 edge in total shots and 7-1 in shots on goal.

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

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