The tourney begins Thursday and will include defending national champion Grand Valley State, which defeated NMU 2-1 in the conference tournament championship game in Allendale on Sunday afternoon. The Lakers received the league’s automatic bid as tourney champion.

The Wildcats, who entered the tourney as the No. 2 seed, reached the finals for the second time in three years after downing No. 7 Wisconsin-Parkside 2-0 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at the NMU Soccer Field and edging No. 3 Saginaw Valley State 1-0 in the semifinals on Friday in Allendale.

GVSU had won the right to host the semifinals and finals as the top-seeded semifinalist.

Northern has a 13-3-5 overall record and finished 8-2-4 in the GLIAC regular season. The Wildcats’ Brooke Pietila, Molly Pistorius and Gwen Kiilunen were named to the GLIAC All-Tournament team.

Here is a roundup of NMU’s games in Allendale:

——————-

NMU 1, Saginaw Valley State 0

On Friday, the game’s lone goal was scored in the 19th minute by Pietila, her seventh score of the season.

Teammate Brenna Musser sent a pass to the box that Pietila got a foot on to push it past SVSU goalkeeper Lainey Garbarz, according to a game account from NMU Sports Information.

The Wildcats finished with a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal, meaning Garbarz made three saves and NMU keeper Shenae Kreps had two, one each half, as Kreps notched her league-leading ninth shutout this season and dropped her goals-against average to 0.54.

Northern had a lopsided advantage in total shots, 12-3.

Musser,

Pistorius and Natalie Stampfly had NMU’s other shots on goal, while Pietila finished with a game-high four total shots as Stampfly had two.

“I’m so happy with how the team has been doing,” Pietila said in the NMU SI account. “We are hitting our stride and cannot wait to continue to battle on Sunday. It definitely took a team effort to win today.”

The game started rather slowly with few good scoring looks in the first 15 minutes. But in the 16th minute, Pistorius scored a goal only to have it waved off for offsides.

A few minutes later, Pietila dove to get her foot on the ball that Musser sent into the box for the game’s only goal.

At halftime, the Wildcats held advantages of 6-3 in total shots, 2-1 in shots on goal and 5-3 on corner kicks.

NMU continued to control play in the second half, too, according to NMU SI, taking the first six shots after intermission. Pietila had several quality looks, including one on a free kick in the attacking third.

The Cardinals got their lone shot on goal in the final two minutes as Northern’s defensive line that included Isabelle Brusilow and Rachael Erste was credited for their good second-half play.

——————-

Grand Valley State 2, NMU 1

On Sunday, the Wildcats got their rematch with the league champs after tying them 0-0 at home on Oct. 9 and losing by a prophetic 2-1 score in Allendale on Sept. 23.

In this latest encounter, Northern mounted a furious comeback after falling behind 2-0 about five minutes into the second half, getting a goal back from Pistorius barely more than three minutes later and dominating the rest of the game, though it didn’t result in the game equalizer.

For the day, NMU held a 14-11 advantage in total shots, including a 9-4 edge in the second half, and had a 4-3 edge in shots on goal. In addition, the Wildcats had all five corner kicks in the second half after it was a 2-2 split in the opening half.

Grand Valley had the first shot on goal in the sixth minute as Kreps made the save. Then Northern got the first corner kick in the 13th minute as the Wildcats’ Maria Storm got a foot on it for a hook-around shot that sailed wide, according to NMU SI.

The Lakers had their own corner kick a few minutes later, but a header by GV’s Kennedy Bearden went high.

As the midpoint of the first half neared, Pietila had the best shot so far, firing a shot redirected by Lakers keeper Kendall Robertson as she went to the ground for the save.

Then in the 22nd minute, a kick bounced up into the hands of an NMU defender that resulted in a penalty kick that GVSU’s Brooke Russell converted for the first goal.

The Lakers continued to apply offensive pressure, using 20 mph and higher wind gusts to thwart NMU’s attempts to clear its defensive zone.

Grand Valley held 7-5 total shots and 2-1 shots on goal advantages in the opening half.

Northern got off to a fast start in the second half as Musser got a great left-footed look that pushed wide, according to NMU SI.

But GVSU turned the tables 4:57 into the second half with Taylor Reid’s 14th goal of the season for a 2-0 cushion.

Then NMU was spurred on and 3:06 later, Pietila fired a shot on goal that Robertson had trouble with, and Pistorius pounced on the ball to get the Wildcats back within one.

Northern controlled the next 10 minutes, too, getting several chances in the attacking third but unable to finish them off. In the 67th minute, Grand Valley could’ve made it a two-goal game again, but the open net was missed as the ball hit the crossbar.

The Wildcats continued their offensive pressure, but without success the rest of the way.

Pietila finished with a game-high six shots, including two on goal, while Storm and Pistorius each had two shots.

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