Northern Michigan University’s Alessandro Scialanga looks for a place to move the ball out of the Wildcats defensive zone during a college men’s soccer exhibition match played against Wisconsin-Superior at the Superior Dome in Marquette on April 7. (Journal file photo by Caden Sierra)

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University men’s soccer team will play a trio of exhibition games on the road in the next 10 days getting ready for the start of its regular season in early September, three days after Labor Day.

These Wildcats struggled to a 2-10-4 finish last fall, scoring just 10 goals in 16 games and being shut out nine times.

“I think everyone is excited to kick off our season, and we couldn’t have asked for a better opening exhibition,” NMU head coach Alex Fatovic said in an NMU Sports Information news release publicizing the schedule. “We haven’t played a match together since April 7, and we’re facing a difficult and well coached opponent in Madonna, while at the same time bringing our program to an awesome soccer and supportive NMU community in Petoskey and Lower … Michigan.”

The Wildcats open exhibition play at 1 p.m. Friday facing NAIA member Madonna University of Livonia at neutral-site Petoskey High School in the northern Lower Peninsula.

Madonna was picked third in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference preseason poll after posting a 11-5-4 record and bowing out in the second round of its conference playoffs last fall.

“The Madonna match sets us up nicely for a tough two-game day event in Wisconsin,” Fatovic said. “This will be great preparation to build toward having a great season.”

Northern comes home before heading west for a pair of exhibitions on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Superior, Wisconsin, facing Wisconsin-Superior at 3 p.m. EDT and St. Scholastica of Duluth, Minnesota, at 4:45 p.m. EDT.

UW-Superior was 17-4-2 in 2023, securing its sixth straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference regular-season title and seventh straight UMAC postseason crown while earning a bid to the NCAA Division III nationals.

St. Scholastica, also a D-III member, was 11th in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 2-14-1.

The Wildcats begin the regular season on the road, too, playing at former GLIAC member Northwood in Midland on Thursday, Sept. 5, then traveling south to face Quincy in Quincy, Illinois, on Sunday, Sept. 8.

Northern’s first home game is against Lewis University at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, at the NMU Soccer Field, following it up with another home game against Thomas More at noon on Saturday, Sept. 14.

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