MARQUETTE — Four players on the men’s soccer team at Northern Michigan University have earned All-Midwest Region honors from the United Soccer Coaches group.

Junior Luca Rosen was named to the Midwest First Team, while senior Alessandro Sicalanga, junior Asaf Kristal and sophomore Ian Weimer all made it onto the Second Team.

These honors came after the best season in the nine-year-old program’s history after the Wildcats won the conference tournament and earned their first appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference had seven student-athletes selected, but with a majority coming from NMU, it was only Rosen who made the First Team.

“Tremendous honor to have four of our team members recognized by the region,” Northern head coach Alex Fatovic said in an NMU Sports Information news release announcing these awards. “Our ultimate goal is, and was, team success and we certainly accomplished that this fall.

“However, it’s also time to congratulate some of the major on-field contributions that led to our first GLIAC title in program history. Well done to Luca, Ale, Asaf and Ian.”

Rosen, a forward from London, England, who transferred in the off-season from Northeast Community College, made an immediate impact upon arrival in Marquette.

He led the Wildcats with nine goals, 22 points, 98 overall shots, 40 shots on goal, four game-winning goals and three penalty-kick goals as he started 19 of the team’s 20 games, recording the second-most minutes among NMU forwards.

In fact, his overall shots, shots on goal and 4.90 shots per game led all of NCAA Division II, while his 2.00 shots on goal per game was second in the country.

In a dozen GLIAC matches, he led the conference in just about every category, including nine goals, four game-winning goals, 19 points, 68 total shots — by nearly 30 — and 27 shots on goal.

Rosen won an All-GLIAC First Team honor as an “at-large” selection and was named GLIAC Forward of the Week twice, the only league forward to accomplish that, and added assists in both the GLIAC semifinal and championship games of the tourney en route to Northern winning that title.

Like Rosen, Kristal was a transfer in the offseason, coming from West Texas A&M and Illinois-Chicago. A native of Tel Aviv, Israel, he also made an immediate impact, starting every game in goal for NMU, posting a 9-5-6 record with eight shutouts, 104 saves, a 0.89 goals-against average and .852 saves percentage.

In regional rankings, he was second in saves percentage and total saves, while also fourth with 5.20 saves per game and goalie minutes played, then also fifth in shutouts and eighth in goals-against.

He set every major statistical season record for the Wildcats this season, along with pitching a shutout in the GLIAC Championship as he was named All-GLIAC Honorable Mention.

Scialanga is a defender and team captain from Sutri, Italy, who was injured in late September, missed three games and played at least 84 minutes in every game starting in his second game back in October.

In addition to being an anchor of the defense, he was the main man on set pieces, scoring a goal and adding three assists, with two of those assists coming in the GLIAC quarterfinals that wasn’t decided until after two overtimes and eight rounds of a shootout.

Weimer is a forward from Marietta, Ohio, who burst on the scene in his second year as a Northern player. After playing at least 50 minutes just once and with no points in his first six games this season, Weimer caught fire down the stretch to be a crucial part of the NMU offense, finishing second on the team with six goals and 13 points while earning All-GLIAC Honorable Mention.

Starting near the end of the regular season, he scored five goals with three game-winners in five games, capped off with a two-goal brace and game-winner in overtime vs. Roosevelt in the GLIAC semifinals.

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