MARQUETTE — Penalty kicks are almost always dramatic plays in soccer, but the one the Northern Michigan University men’s soccer team converted on Sunday proved to be all the offense that either the Wildcats or Quincy University would produce at the NMU Soccer Field on Sunday afternoon.

And that was how Northern evened its record at 1-1 with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Hawks. NMU lost 4-2 to Northwood to open the season at home on Thursday.

The winning play came near the midpoint of the second half, according to a game account provided by NMU Sports Information.

After a booming goal kick from Wildcats goalkeeper Florian Palmowski, teammate Fernando Abascal flicked the ball to Tommaso Lami, who beat his defender into the box, forcing that Quincy player to foul and draw a penalty.

Northern Michigan University’s Alessandro Scialanga, front, blocks Quincy’s Rennato Ramos from getting possession of the ball during their college men’s soccer game played at the NMU Soccer Field on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Lami stepped up and made no mistake with his right foot, depositing the ball into the left corner of the net, giving NMU a lead with exactly 20 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation, according to NMU SI.

Northern would hold onto the lead with stout defensive play, finishing with the victory.

“Fantastic team effort for our first win of the season,” Wildcats head coach Alex Fatovic said in the game account. “It’s never easy on a Sunday, but our boys responded to Thursday’s disappointing performance like true professionals.

“Improvement in every area of the game combined with an all-out defensive master class was the key to the result. Now time to rest, recover and get ready for a difficult away match at Lewis on Thursday.”

Two of the Wildcats’ three remaining nonconference games come this week on the road as Northern travels to Romeoville, Illinois, to play Lewis at 4:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, then heading southeast to Crestview Hills, Kentucky, — about 10 miles from Cincinnati — to face Thomas More at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The following week, NMU heads into GLIAC play with 10 of the remaining 11 games in conference. Northern hosts Davenport at noon on Friday, Sept. 15, and Saginaw Valley State at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17.

Lami, last season’s GLIAC Freshman of the Year, played 83 minutes on Sunday and had four shots, three of them on goal. Both shot totals were more than any other player from either squad as each team finished with eight total shots and four of them on goal.

Isaac Ward had NMU’s other shot on goal as teammates Cian Tunney,

Jaziel Sainz de Vilmorin and Noah Johnson also had shots.

Palmowski finished with four saves and his first shutout as a Wildcat as he and Northern team captain Kalvin Glodz played the entire 90 minutes.

While Quincy committed more fouls, 13-9, while the Hawks also had a small edge in corner kicks, 4-3.

Abascal looked to have put NMU on the scoreboard much earlier in the game during the first half, but he was ruled offside and the goal waved off after he took a through ball from de Vilmorin and beat Quincy keeper George Roke.

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