It came down to the last 22 seconds in a physical double-overtime battle for the NMU women’s soccer team to achieve a 4-3 victory over the Northwood University Timberwolves on Sunday and pick up a split for the weekend.
Junior forward Amelia Johnson netted the game winner after a corner kick scramble fell in her direction.
“We were all just fighting in the box, and I saw an opening and just hit it,” Johnson said. It feels great to beat Northwood. We’ve got a definite rivalry against them.”
The physical match boiled over on the last play as sophomore defender Kaylagh Hollen received a red card when the teams got mixed up in the goalie box.
Head coach Matt Granstrand said he was impressed with the team’s effort.
“I was proud of our girls,” Granstrand said. “We performed against a team that came out ready for blood. They got blood, we got blood, but we got the win so it was a good game.”
NMU got on the board first when freshman forward Tevun Sellers scored on a breakaway assist from her sister, junior midfielder Brekelle Sellers at the 31:54 minute.
Junior midfielder KC McCary put the ’Cats up 2-0 when she punched in her third goal of the season off a rebound at the 60:16 minute.
The Timberwolves scored three minutes later to cut the lead to 2-1. Johnson responded with her first goal of the game and fourth of the season on an assist from senior forward Chelsea Lyons at 66:33.
The Timberwolves scored less than a minute later at the 67:10 minute, making it a 3-2 Wildcat lead. Granstrand said Northwood’s fight made the game a challenge.
“Northwood never quits,” Granstrand said. “Everyone has their rival, their one team that they just don’t like, and Northwood just does not like us.”
Northwood scored with less than three minutes left in regulation to send the game to overtime. The Timberwolves had a chance to win the game in the second overtime when a yellow card gave them a penalty kick.
Senior goalkeeper Jessica Baker deflected the ball into the crossbar to end the threat. Baker had a season-high 13 saves.
“It was a great game,” Granstrand said. “It was a good GLIAC rugby match, a non soccer game like we play in the GLIAC, and we played all out the whole time.”
NMU’s first game of the weekend was against the Saginaw Valley University Cardinals. Two first half goals proved to be enough for Saginaw as they held on to a 2-0 win. Granstrand said the slow start cost his team the game.
“You’ve got to come to play from the beginning and we didn’t,” Granstrand said. “It starts with me, and we were not ready to play, and that won’t happen again.”
Saginaw scored their first goal at the 11:15 minute and scored again at 31:40. The second goal was on a missed pass to Baker in goal. Granstrand said mistakes are a part of sports.
“That’s what happens in a long season,” Granstrand said. “You hope to catch breaks some games and some games the breaks catch you.”
The Wildcats controlled the pace of the game in the second half but couldn’t find the back of the net. Senior forward Chelsea Lyons said the effort was there, just not the end result.
“It didn’t seem like our team was on the same page,” Lyons said. “You have those games where nobody can seem to get a good touch in. The heart was there, we played hard, but we just couldn’t get the finishes in.”
The Wildcats host their final regular season match of the year against the Michigan Tech Huskies (5-8-1 GLIAC, 7-8-1 overall) at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 at the NMU soccer complex.
