Northern Michigan University’s Davian Gumbs readies to pass the ball to a teammate during a GLIAC men’s soccer game played against Wisconsin-Parkside at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette on Sept. 19. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — The men’s soccer team at Northern Michigan University has a big challenge on Friday afternoon when the Wildcats host national No. 17 Saginaw Valley State at noon at the NMU Soccer Field.

They remain there to face another conference challenger, Davenport, at noon Sunday.

Northern is 2-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 3-2-3 overall, while SVSU is atop the league at 4-0 and is also 5-0-3 overall. Davenport is at the bottom at 0-3-1 and also 1-5-2 overall.

Following a 2-0 road win at St. Cloud State last weekend, the Wildcats aim to maintain their momentum against a Cardinals team as part of NMU’s Student Athlete Mental Health Week.

Fans can follow the action @NMU_Msoc on Instagram and @NMU_Mens_Soccer on X (formerly Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the matches, or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the men’s soccer schedule for links to live video, live statistics and a preview.

After winning two of their past three matches, the Wildcats average 0.88 goals per game with seven goals in eight games.

Teun van Ganswinkel and Luca Rosen are both in the top three in the conference in shots, Rosen with 25 and van Gansewinkel 20. 

Rosen has three goals, placing him fifth in the GLIAC, while van Gansewinkel has two assists, fourth best in the GLIAC. They lead the team in points, Rosen with seven and van Gansewinkel six.

Goaltender Asaf Kristal is second in the GLIAC with six goals against, a 0.75 goals-against average and four shutouts, the latter actually No. 1. He’s also jumped to first in the GLIAC with 24 saves and a .800 saves percentage.

The Cardinals are not only nationally ranked but also second in the Midwest Regional rankings behind Cedarville (6-0-3), having won five in a row with 20 goals this season, most in the GLIAC, while only allowing five goals.

SVSU’s Matty Telfer has five goals and an assist for 11 points, while Evan Baker and Lui Ingavi each have eight points. Ingavi is fourth in the nation and second in the GLIAC with 2.17 shots on goal per game and first in conference with 20 overall shots.

Goalkeeper Nick Kay has a saves percentage of .792 with 19 saves and a goals-against average of just 0.625.

Davenport has been outscored 7-3 in its four GLIAC matches, its only win early on against Ohio Dominion, 2-0.

Charlie David leads DU with four points and nine shots on goal, though teammate Ryan Sheffer also has four points.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the games. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.