NMU soccer men get needed win over St. Cloud
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Northern Michigan University's Noah Preston-Watkins, left, passes with a St. Cloud State player staring him down during their GLIAC men's soccer game played at the NMU Soccer Field in Marquette on Friday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
The Wildcats' goal scoring amounted to a double-double on a windswept day as two players each scored twice in a 4-0 win over St. Cloud State at the NMU Soccer Field that overlooks Lake Superior.
NMU improved to 8-4-2 overall and 5-2-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while St. Cloud State remained tied for last place at 4-9-2 and 2-6-2.
Northern remained a single point out of first place, but now only trails one team, Saginaw Valley State, instead of two, Roosevelt being the other. The Lakers didn't play Friday as they had already played one more game than the other top teams.
The Wildcats still have a home game left against both top two teams. NMU was hosting Roosevelt on Sunday afternoon, while they have home games left vs. Davenport on Friday and SVSU on Sunday to close out the regular season.
Northern, however, needed Friday's victory to keep pace, and they did that in fairly decisive fashion. NMU held a 19-11 advantage in total shots, including 10-6 in shots on goal.
Winds were described as 30 to 40 mph running up and down the field, making each team play into it for a half. NMU had the disadvantage in the first half, then had the wind behind it in the second.
That didn't seem to make much difference to the Wildcats, however, as they scored twice in each half.
Senior captain Luca Rosen opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when he finished off a combination play that also included teammates Sergio Cano Castro and James Carr.
Junior Noah Preston-Watkins then punched one in just 1:01 before halftime, scoring an important second goal after a perfect passing play from Xhoel Lutaj and Carr, according to a game account provided by NMU Sports Information.
Even with the wind disadvantage, Northern held a 6-5 total shots and 3-2 shots on goal edge before intermission, taking a huge 13-6 total shots advantage and 7-4 edge in shots on goal after the break.
Most importantly, the same two scorers scored again in the second half without any answer from St. Cloud.
Rosen punched in his 14th goal of the season, which at the time tied for nation's lead, while Cano Castro's 10th assist put him No. 2 in NCAA Division II.
Cano Castro also became the first player in program history with 10 assists in a season.
Finally, Preston-Watkins knocked home his fifth goal this season in the 67th minute to finish off the scoring, Cano Castro getting his third assist of the day.
The Wildcats' other captain, senior Asaf Kristal, made six saves for his fourth "clean sheet" -- shutout -- of the season, all coming in the last six 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.