NMU men’s soccer falls in match to decide GLIAC title
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MARQUETTE -- It might not seem like much of a consolation prize, but it could be looked at as a new beginning for the men's soccer team at Northern Michigan University.
The Wildcats lost 2-0 to Saginaw Valley State on Sunday afternoon in what turned into the regular-season championship match in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
With NMU leading by just one point in the standings entering the match, the winner was going to take the regular-season title, which Northern could've also clinched with a tie.
Northern finished its regular season at 10-5-2 and in second place in the GLIAC at 7-3-2, good for 23 points. SVSU, ranked No. 14 in NCAA Division II, finished out at 9-1-6 and 7-1-4 in league, worth 25 points.
The double-digit wins are the Wildcats' most ever in a season, with second place also their best finish in the decade-long history of the program.
What being runner-up does net NMU is a bye in the first round of the six-team league tournament that starts Sunday for the Nos. 3 through 6 seeds. No. 6 Davenport plays at No. 3 Purdue Northwest, while No. 5 Roosevelt goes to No. 4 Wisconsin-Parkside.
Northern and Saginaw Valley get to wait for those winners to emerge, not jumping into action until the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 6, at the Cardinals' field in University Center between Saginaw and Bay City.
The Wildcats will face the Purdue NW-Davenport victor, while SVSU plays the Parkside-Roosevelt winner.
Semifinal winners square off two days later on Sunday, Nov. 8, back at Saginaw Valley for the tourney title.
Last year, Northern won its home quarterfinal game after a shovel brigade cleared off the NMU Soccer Field, then traveled to University Center before knocking off Roosevelt in the semis and SVSU in the finals for its first GLIAC Tournament title.
On Sunday for Senior Day, the Wildcats honored those players -- captains Luca Rosen and Asaf Kristal, along with Robert Wright, James Carr and Davian Gumbs.
Kristal was kept busy as while the overall shots were even, 17-17, the Cardinals held an 8-4 edge in shots on goal. Kristal made six saves, three each half.
SVSU also had a narrow advantage in corner kicks, 7-6.
Kristal faced a shot right off the bat, stopping SVSU's Matty Elefer 1-on-1 in tight after his team's counterattack, according to a game account provided by NMU Sports Information.
Later in the opening half, the Wildcats had a free kick from fairly close in that was blocked, while NMU's Asa Dean had a follow-up attempt saved by Saginaw Valley netminder Jack Franklin.
The Cardinals did break the scoreless tie in the 32nd minute when a corner kick by Amadou Kouyate found the head of teammate Kai Forsyth at the back post to deflect in.
Northern took an even bigger blow early in the second half when Rosen, the No. 2 scorer in the nation, went down with an injury about six minutes in and didn't return.
SVSU added insurance from the same player, Forsyth, on a near-identical play, taking an in-swinging corner kick that found his head again with 14:22 to go.
Also adding to the Wildcats' malaise was freshman forward Sergio Cano Castro being shown his second yellow card with one second remaining, not only ejecting him from this game, but also making him ineligible for the GLIAC semifinals.
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Northern Michigan University's Ian Weimer, back, and Saginaw Valley State’s Abram Freye leap high trying to head the ball during their GLIAC men's soccer game played at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette on Sunday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)