NMU men’s soccer back home with Rosen top GLIAC player
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MARQUETTE -- It's an exciting time for the men's soccer team at Northern Michigan University to be at home.
The Wildcats play a pair of conference games at the NMU Soccer Field on Friday and Sunday afternoons, coming off a four-game road trip that was the major part of their current five-game unbeaten streak.
Just to boot, senior captain Luca Rosen enters these games as reigning Offensive Player of the Week in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
And then there's this little matter of setting the program record for goals in a season he set in the Wildcats' most recent contest, a 4-0 blowout at St. Cloud State (Minnesota).
The London, England, native opened last weekend with his team's only goal in a 1-1 tie at Roosevelt, making sure the Wildcats earned a point against a squad that hasn't lost at home in 19 straight matches.
Two days later at St. Cloud, he notched a goal and an assist, his helper setting up James Carr to score the game-winner. His tally a few minutes later put him at 11 goals in 2026, breaking the record of 10 established by Sam Popp in 2018.
"Another week, another Player of the Week award for Luca Rosen," Northern head coach Alex Fatovic said in an NMU Sports Information news release announcing the honor, adding that it's now two weekly honors this season to go with two in 2025.
"There is no surprise here after another huge road performance, but what makes this award special is how he scored his points -- a goal off of a header, a left-footed cross for a game-winning assist, and a left-footed strike to seal a massive road win for the 'Cats. He literally can do it all."
Rosen leads all of NCAA Division II with his 11 goals, his 1.22 goals per game and 2.78 points per game, while he's second with 25 points and 2.67 shots on goal per game.
This week's action begins at 3 p.m. Friday with Purdue Northwest coming to town, then wraps up with Wisconsin-Parkside appearing at noon Sunday.
"We knocked (Purdue NW) out of the tournament last year, so you can bet they're going to be coming for us," Fatovic said in a separate NMU SI release about the upcoming games. "And then you've got a big game with Parkside on Sunday. Both very good (teams).... It should be a great weekend."
Purdue NW took over the top spot in the GLIAC with a 4-2 home win over Parkside on Wednesday. The Lions, who were called the Pride until this fall, are 6-1-2 overall and 3-1-1 in the league for 10 points.
NMU is 5-2-2 overall and Roosevelt 4-0-4 as both are 2-0-2 in conference contests and have eight points. Parkside is sixth in the seven-team league at 3-5-1 and 1-3-1.
The Wildcats are also receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches national poll, the only GLIAC team doing so. Northern is also third in the Midwest Region coaches' poll, and second in NCAA Power Index rankings for the region behind Saginaw Valley State, which is actually fourth in the league at 3-1-4 and 1-1-2.
Fans can always attend Wildcats soccer matches for free, while also being able to stream them on FloCollege, subscribe to the official NMU Men’s Soccer social media channels for match-day updates, or visit the Northern athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the men's soccer schedule for links to live video, live statistics and a preview.
Interestingly, the schedule pits the Wildcats and Parkside in back-to-back matches. Their rematch is on Friday, Oct. 9, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the start of a road weekend that also sends NMU to Purdue NW that Sunday.
Story contents based on a pair of Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the honor and
Northern Michigan University's Luca Rosen looks where he'll send the ball next during a Wildcats' game played earlier this season at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette. (Photo courtesy NMU)