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Road tie at GLIAC leader: 2nd-place NMU men’s soccer keeps pace with 1-1 tie

2nd-place NMU men’s soccer keeps pace with 1-1 tie

By Steve Brownlee 4 min read

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. -- The men's soccer team at Northern Michigan University kept up with league leader Roosevelt by forcing a 1-1 tie at the Lakers' field in this Chicago suburb on Friday afternoon.

The Lakers, 4-0-4 overall, lead the league with a 2-0-2 record, while NMU is 4-2-2 and 1-0-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. They're not only the top two teams in the league, but ranked Nos. 2 and 3 in the same order in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Power Index ratings that will likely heavily influence selections and seeding in the NCAA Division II tournament in November.

After playing conference foe St. Cloud State on Sunday, the Wildcats host two more GLIAC opponents in the next week, hosting Purdue Northwest at 3 p.m. Friday and Wisconsin-Parkside at noon Sunday at the NMU Soccer Field.

"Disappointed not to get the full three points after scoring in the second half and leading," Northern head coach Alex Fatovic said in an NMU Sports Information news release detailing the game. "However, (I'm) extremely proud of their efforts.

"We played fantastic. Another good result on the road against a top team in the region, and I really think our guys grew into the game.

"Even when they conceded, and there were still 20 minutes left, they didn’t sit and succumb to the pressure; we kept trying to find a winner, but also didn’t give anything away, so I was really pleased."

Roosevelt, which was also receiving votes in this week's national poll, held narrow advantages in team statistics -- 9-8 in total shots, 3-2 in shots on goal, 4-2 in corner kicks and maybe not positively, 19-11 in fouls. The Lakers were also shown two of the three yellow cards in the game.

After a scoreless first half, junior captain Luca Rosen tied an NMU record with his 10th goal of the season scored in the 61st minute, which was about 15 1/2 minutes into the second half.

He scored with a decisive header off a crossing pass from sophomore Vinni DaSilva, who subbed in during the 34th minute. DaSilva dribbled the ball to the right side of the box and booted the ball toward the far post that Rosen found with his head to knock home.

Fatovic said a header from Rosen is "not something that's typically on my bingo card."

“He was definitely marked tight," the NMU coach said. "They game-planned for him; he couldn't find a lot of freedom, but he found himself at the back post and scored a header on a tremendous play.

"He just keeps finding ways to score; he's worked extremely hard, he was pressing very hard as well, and it was just another good performance from our captain."

Roosevelt needed just over nine minutes to score the tying goal. A cross into the box was initially headed away by Northern's Marcos Gallardo Rozano, but the wayward ball found its way onto the foot of the Lakers' Alexander Panduro, who took a touch and turned toward the goal, according to NMU SI.

He then hit a right-footed strike that found the bottom left corner of the goal past the outstretched hand of Wildcats goalkeeper Asaf Kristal, who finished with two saves.

NMU had about 20 minutes to attempt to retake the lead, and had at least one good opportunity. DaSilva corralled a ball just inside the box, with time to turn and kick. While he beat WSU netminder Cedrik Strupler, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced away. Strupler finished with one save.

Defender James Carr had Northern's other shot on goal, while DaSilva and Rosen were the only Wildcats with two shots overall.

Kristal was joined in playing all 90 minutes by defenders Gallardo Rozano, Carr, Davian Gumbs and Noah Girard, along with midfielder Julius Lemm.

"I think the defense was again fantastic," Fatovic said. "I think we've really grown with our back line and our central defense in midfield.

"We conceded four goals in that first Saginaw (Valley State) game (on Sept. 6), and since then, we haven't conceded more than one goal in any game. I think they're really finding their footing.

"Marcos was huge, and Noah was massive; they handled everything in the air, they brought things down, and when the game got really tough at the end, and there was a lot of pressure, they didn't break."

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

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