Northern Michigan University’s Addison Wargo, right, gets out ahead of Michigan Tech’s Kiersen Korienek during one of their games during the 2024 season. (Photo courtesy NMU)

MARQUETTE — The women’s soccer team at Northern Michigan University has a fitting way to end its five-game homestand this weekend — play its top rival, Michigan Tech.

The Wildcats host the Huskies at 3 p.m. Sunday at the NMU Soccer Field at a game as part of Family Weekend.

Both teams are near the middle of the standings in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, NMU at 3-3-4 overall and 3-2-1 in the conference. That’s a tie with Ferris State for third place, though Northern is listed fourth as it has played one more league game than FSU.

Tech is sitting seventh at 1-8-1 overall and 1-4-1 in the GLIAC.

Grand Valley State leads all those teams at 8-1 and 5-0, while Wisconsin-Parkside is second at 4-4-2 and 4-1-1.

The Wildcats are coming off a win and tie last weekend, having gone 2-0-1 in their past three contests. NMU defeated Ferris 2-1 on Oct. 3 and tied Saginaw Valley State 3-3 on Sunday.

Ferris scored the first goal in their game vs. NMU before Northern stormed back, while the Cardinals did much the same, spotting the Wildcats a 3-0 lead against the stiff wind before turning around to forge the deadlock.

In the Ferris game, Northern’s Hannah Kastamo scored twice in the final 10 minutes to erase a 1-0 deficit. Versus SVSU, Kastamo and Madison Bilbia scored in the first half and Irene Kiilunen early in the second for what seemed like an insurmountable three-goal lead, except the wind that was an advantage early turned into a disadvantage when the teams switched ends.

The Huskies faced the same two opponents last week at home, falling 2-1 to both SVSU and Ferris, and now have lost four in a row.

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

“I think we learned a lot about ourselves (last weekend),” Northern head coach Erin Egolf said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the game. “We have a lot of fight and a lot of grit in our team, and I think we showed that.”

Kastamo has 10 points on four goals and two assists to lead Wildcats’ scoring, while Addison Frantti has seven points including two goals and Kiilunen six points all on three goals.

In goal, Carly Sides has gotten the time most recently, and over five games, has a 2.00 goals-against average with 32 saves and a .762 saves percentage. Jillian Thompson, also playing five contests, is at a 0.80 GAA with 17 saves and .810 saves percentage.

Despite its struggles, Michigan Tech has only played two road games this season. Peyton Wetzel leads the Huskies with three goals and two assists for eight points, having an assist in each of her team’s last two games. Teammate Reilly Lovercheck has a goal in each of the last two, while goalkeeper Bri Barrows has 52 saves and a .776 saves percentage.

Northern leads the all-time series against MTU at 15-9-4. The Wildcats also have an eight-game unbeaten streak and are 9-1-2 in their last 12 meetings, not having lost at home to the Huskies since Sept. 30, 2018.

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