Wildcats move atop GLIAC women’s race with 3-0, 5-0 wins at home

By Journal Sports Staff
MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University women’s soccer team had a big weekend on both offense and defense, and in so doing, took over first place in the GLIAC while staying at home.
The Wildcats’ second-to-last weekend of the regular season at the NMU Soccer Field produced a 3-0 win over league newcomer Roosevelt and a 5-0 victory over Purdue Northwest, propelling NMU just barely into the top spot over previous No. 1 Grand Valley State.
Northern is now 10-3-2 overall and 8-2-1 in league games, while GVSU is 7-1-2 in the conference. Both teams are six games above .500, but with one more game played, NMU has a two-point edge on top of the standings.
Northern is also a sterling 32-3-7 in home games presided over by head coach Jon Sandoval.
The Wildcats have one more home game this week before hitting the road for the final weekend just before the start of the GLIAC Tournament.
NMU hosts Wisconsin-Parkside at 3 p.m. Friday, then goes downstate to Allendale to face the virtual co-leader Grand Valley at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7. Then they trek east to University Center between Bay City and Saginaw to take on Saginaw Valley State at noon on Saturday, Nov. 9.
“The big thing is looking one game ahead, and right now that’s Friday against Parkside,” Sandoval said in an NMU Sports Information news release about the Purdue NW game. “We enjoy playing at home in front of the home fans, and if we can get another win at home, it’ll take a little pressure off from the road.”
The GLIAC tourney opens with quarterfinal round at the home fields of the top four seeds on Tuesday, Nov. 12, then shifts to the highest remaining seed’s field for the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 15, and finals on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Here are details about the past weekend:
NMU 3, Roosevelt 0
On Friday afternoon, the Wildcats began celebrating their Senior Weekend early as Northern netted all three goals in the first half, in fact during a 12-minute spurt in the latter stages not too long before halftime.
“Being able to finish from service was really good to see, that was something we worked on in practice this week,” Sandoval said.
“I thought we controlled most of the tempo from the run of play, got to a lot of first and second balls, and (had) a huge positive to get a lot of minutes for a lot of players ahead of Sunday’s match.”
Justina L’Esperance continued her tear, assisting on the opening goal before scoring one of her own minutes later. That goal was scored by Kenna Alexander for her first career Wildcat goal.
Sami Brown also scored her first collegiate goal, taking a well-place cross from Allison Kroll.
Netminder Sally Patton started and made NMU’s lone save before giving way for senior Sydney Lake in the second half. This marked Northern’s seventh shutout of the season.
The score barely told the story of how dominant the the Wildcats were — more telling was their huge 31-4 advantage in total shots and 15-1 in shots on goal. Northern also took eight of the game’s nine corner kicks.
Before there were any goals, NMU started strongly and established possession as Brooke Pietila took an early shot off a great pass by Molly Pistorius, according to NMU SI, and then at the 17-minute mark, L’Esperance took a powerful shot denied by Roosevelt keeper Roxana Herrera.
Then in the 25th minute, Northern’s Calihan Bearden took a header that drew a Herrera save. The ball bounded over to L’Esperance and she dished it to Alexander for her own header that scored.
Then just about 4 1/2 minutes later, L’Esperance found the net with well-placed header into the low left corner.
Finally, another 7 1/2 minutes after that, Brown made it three goals headed in after she took a cross from Allison Kroll, who had made a powerful run to the outside of the right side of the penalty area.
NMU 5,
Purdue Northwest 0
On Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats had another dominant day, outshooting the Pride 24-3 and winning the shots-on-goal contest 13-0.
Northern scored goals less than two minutes apart before the game was 10 minutes old, then made it 3-0 by halftime before adding back-to-back goals about 4 1/2 minutes apart early in the second half.
In a game characterized by high energy and teamwork, according to NMU SI, the Wildcats utilized long balls and effective sideline runs to penetrate the defense and create numerous scoring opportunities.
“We knew that Purdue was having a great year, so we knew that if we came out flat, we were in danger of being behind early,” Sandoval said in another NMU SI account of the match. “Kudos to the group for being able to recognize that and get the job done.”
The Wildcats honored 13 seniors before the match, all of whom saw playing time.
“This class was the first full recruiting cycle for me,” Sandoval said. “They came in when we were still rebuilding, and they played a big part in getting us to this point and in building a culture, being the change, and building the belief.
“Although they’re graduating, the tradition and culture that they’ve set will still be here.”
Pietila, one of those seniors, scored the first and fourth goal while assisting on another. Brown, a senior, scored for the second straight game as yet another senior, Caitlyn Trombley, registered an assist.
Pistorius had a goal and two assists, while Hannah Kastamo had a goal and assist and Alexander had an assist.
In the eighth minute, Hannah Kastamo initiated an attack by sending a low pass to Pistorius, who was working down the sideline. The latter played a precise pass into the box and found Pietila, who was perfectly positioned out front to finish the play.
Not even two minutes later, Pietila made a brilliant run down the right side, according to NMU SI, connecting with Alexander, who sent a well-timed cross into the box. Pistorius finished off the play by heading the ball in.
Then in the 32nd minute, the PNW goalie attempted to clear the ball but misjudged the pass. Trombley was there to intercept the flub, quickly taking the ball up the left side and found Brown in the box.
It was up to Brown to volley the ball into the net to make it 3-0.
Pistorius created the play that got NMU its fourth goal in the 58th minute. She made a powerful run down the center, setting up Pietila for a through ball as she took a well-placed shot in the lower left corner of the net.
The final score came from Kastamo as she moved around her defender to set up a breakaway and kicked in a hard shot.
Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.