For the first time since the program was inaugurated in 2016, the Wildcats advanced to the championship game of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

Northern defeated Roosevelt 2-1 in overtime, making NMU the winner of their season series after the teams split one-goal decisions during the regular season.

The Wildcats were to play No. 1 seed and semifinals-finals host Saginaw Valley State on Sunday afternoon back at the Cardinals’ campus located between Saginaw and Bay City.

Northern not only made it to the finale for the first time, but set a program record for victories in a season as its record improved to 8-4-6 following a 6-4-2 campaign in the GLIAC.

Northern Michigan University men’s soccer head coach Alex Fatovic, right, embraces Ian Weimer during a postgame celebration after the Wildcats defeated Roosevelt 2-1 in overtime in the GLIAC Tournament semifinals at University Center on Friday. (Photo courtesy NMU)

This comes just one short year after the Wildcats struggled to last place in the GLIAC as the only conference team to miss the tournament in 2024.

“It shows the determination and grit from these guys, and I’m so proud of them,” Northern head coach Alex Fatovic said in an NMU Sports Information news release reviewing the game. “It’s never easy, and especially when it’s the defending champions.”

The Wildcats’ dominant first half only produced the narrowest of leads, 1-0, at halftime. NMU outshot No. 2 seed Roosevelt 7-3 in total shots and 4-0 in shots on goal over the opening 45 minutes.

For the game, NMU held advantages of 14-11 in total shots and 6-3 in shots on goal, though Roosevelt held the edge in corner kicks, 6-4, and had fewer fouls, 17-15. Each team was shown three yellow cards, two on each team in the last 14 minutes.

GLIAC Honorable Mention honoree Ian Weimer of Northern, a recent GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week, finished off a terrific tic-tac-toe passing play from conference First Teamer Luca Rosen and top defender James Carr in the 24th minute to give the Wildcats the lead.

Before that, Rosen made a steal and went on the counteroffensive, driving to the left side of the box. Taking a low driven left-footer, he forced Lakers netminder Eric Carvajal to make a quick save. A subsequent free kick to the right of the box by NMU’s Alessandro Scialanga was also saved.

Still scoreless, Rosen again went on the counter and drew a free kick, his curling strike just missing the crossbar.

Northern goalkeeper Asaf Kristal kept the score that way until the final 13 minutes of regulation with some nifty work in front of his net. Roosevelt had a free kick in a dangerous area just outside the box, and Kristal made a full-extension save on the curling free kick. That produced a Lakers’ corner kick, and Kristal stopped a header in tight.

“Two massive saves,” Fatovic said. “The free kick was an absolute ‘worldie,’ save-of-the-year contender, and then coming off his line again a few minutes later.

“Not much you can do on the penalty, but again, he’s steady, has good leadership, great distribution and no errors whatsoever.”

Later, GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year Fynn Mewes broke in one-on-one with Kristal, but the NMU goalie stopped him in the 61st minute.

Roosevelt finally broke through on a penalty kick, Mewes taking the shot and his right-footed strike finding the bottom left corner of the NMU net.

Then Northern brought Isaac Cervantes off the bench in the final minutes of regulation, and he paid off with a perfectly placed slide tackle one-on-one with Mewes before blocking a shot inside the box to get the game to OT.

“(Isaac) is absolutely unbelievable,” his coach said. “I will put him in the game at any time, without a doubt. He’s a warrior, and he knows his role — he starts some, he doesn’t start some, but if we’re winning and trying to preserve a lead, he knows he’s going in.

“Those were some big-time saves at the end of the game, and then we stuck with him in overtime because he was playing so well, and that speaks volumes of his maturity to not be a starter and come off the bench and make saves for us like that.”

It didn’t take much extra time to end it, when 2:44 in a seemingly harmless cross from Carr was mishandled by Carvajal, with Weimer pouncing on it at his doorstep to advance the Wildcats.

“Like we’ve said before, (Ian) just gets better every game,” Fatovic said. “He was fantastic again (Friday), and he plays the (No.) 9 (position) the way it should be played; getting in good areas, great finish on the first goal, and he’s pressing all the time.

“He’s the hero with a golden goal, finds his way on a brace, and I’m super proud of him.”

It was Weimer’s sixth goal of the season, but also his fifth in as many games.

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