NMU improved to 5-0-1 overall and is now 2-0 in the conference after winning on the road, 7-1 at Wisconsin-Parkside and 4-0 at Purdue Northwest.

The Wildcats’ only blemish on their record is a 3-3 tie against nationally ranked Bemidji State on Sept. 2.

Northern returns home to the NMU Soccer Field this weekend for games against conference foes Ferris State at 3 p.m. Friday and Saginaw Valley State at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Here is a rundown of last weekend’s matches:

Northern Michigan's Izzy Brusilow makes a throw-in during a college women's soccer game against Bemidji State at the NMU Soccer Field on Sept. 2. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

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NMU 7, Wisconsin-Parkside 1

On Friday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a trio of Northern players scored two goals apiece — freshman Molly Pistorius, sophomore Brooke Pietila and senior Rachael Erste.

Pietila added three assists for a seven-point game. Sophomore teammate Stephanie Trujillo, who scored the game’s first goal, and junior Brenna Musser added two assists each for NMU.

“It was an overall great team win,” Pistorius said in an NMU release about the game. “We came back in the second half with energy and finished the chances we created. It was an awesome start to conference play.”

Trujillo and Pistorius scored goals 31 seconds apart starting in the 14th minute. Pietila assisted on both goals with Trujillo getting an assist on Pistorius’. On the first goal, Pietila took a corner kick followed by Trujillo knocking it home.

Then Parkside answered with its lone goal, scored by Alexis Baker and assisted by Alexis Bolger, in the 27th minute to make it 2-1, which it remained at until halftime.

Despite the narrow margin on the scoreboard, NMU held a 13-6 shots advantage and 9-3 shots on goal edge in the first half.

Once the second half got started, NMU went into complete offensive mode — in a good way. The Wildcats scored four times before four minutes elapsed on the second-half clock, adding the game’s final goal about nine minutes after that outburst ended.

“We weren’t satisfied with a one-goal lead at halftime,” Pietla said. “We knew we had to come out with more urgency in the second half. We had the chances in the first, but we put them away in the second half.”

Pistorius opened the scoring just 42 seconds in, sneaking the ball over top of Parkside’s goalkeeper as Pietila assisted again. Then Pietila got a pair of goals 2:22 apart with an Erste goal sandwiched between them.

Erste rounded out the scoring in the game’s 58th minute as Northern finished with a 25-8 total shots and 16-4 shots on goal advantages.

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NMU 4, Purdue Northwest

On Sunday in Hammond, Indiana, Wildcats goalkeeper Shenae Kreps posted her fifth win and fourth shutout of her senior season as NMU completely dominated the action, outshooting the Pride 27-2 overall and 16-1 in shots on goal. Northern also had all nine of the game’s corner kicks.

“Having two wins and 11 goals in one weekend is the best start to conference play we could have,” Kreps said in an NMU release on the game. “We want to keep this momentum going into next weekend.”

Wildcats sophomore Justina L’Esperance, who had her goal-scoring streak snapped at five games on Friday, got back in the scoring column with Sunday’s only goal of the first half in the 33rd minute. She went low past Purdue NW’s goalkeeper for her fifth goal this season as Northern held a 14-1 edge in total shots.

Pietila added insurance just over five minutes into the second half, which was followed by a Pistorius goal not quite 13 minutes later and one by freshman Hannah Kastamo with just under three minutes remaining.

The game’s only assists went to Erste on the Pistorius goal and sophomore Caitlyn Trombley on the final tally.

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