It all came down to one field goal in Saturday’s  heartbreaking loss to Michigan Tech.

NMU football competed against the Michigan Tech Huskies on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Sherman Field, this year being the 14th annual Miner’s Cup game.

“Whether you win or you lose, you have to have the ability to move on,” head coach Chris Ostrowsky said. “The game is really based on preparation, and if you don’t [prepare] you’ll miss out and you have no chance to compete the next week.”

“We played our hearts out and we only lost by one point,” sophomore wide receiver Keyondre Craig said. “This week we focus on going hard in the weight room and on the field.”

The Huskies led the Wildcats 10-0 until the last minute of the first half, when senior wide receiver Marcus Tucker ran 38 yards for the touchdown. At 10:15 in the third quarter a 64-yard pass put the Wildcats on the Husky 4-yard line, Craig made the touchdown to put the ’Cats in the lead.

In the last 2:34 of the third quarter, senior defensive back Brandon Auguste caught a pass from Husky quarterback Brandon Cowie, Auguste returning it 40-yards for a touchdown.

The Huskies responded with another touchdown in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Sophomore kicker Ryan LaBerge kicked a field goal to increase the Wildcat lead 23-17.

Another touchdown from the Huskies put the Wildcats down by one. In the last play of the game LaBerge attempted another field goal. The low kick was blocked by the Huskies defense and the Wildcats ultimately fell to the Huskies 24-23.

The Huskies keep the Miner’s Cup in Houghton for another year.

After this weekend’s contest, NMU is now 1-2 in the GLIAC and 2-2 overall.

“We did a lot of things right,.They’re a top team in the nation and we hung right with them the entire game,” junior strong safety Julian Hornback said. “We have to fix the little things and the little things we fix are going to take us a long way.”

A good Tuesday practice is getting the Wildcats back on track and preparing for their next game, Ostrowsky said.

The ’Cats are back home this weekend to host the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals on Saturday, Oct. 3 in the Dome.

NMU is looking for a comeback from this weekend and Hornback said he believes the Cardinals will be a comeback game for the Wildcats.

The ’Cats are also looking for redemption from last season when they met the Cardinals on the field and were defeated 14-7

The Cardinals are 0-4 in their season and 0-3 in the GLIAC.On Saturday, Sept. 26, the Cardinals were defeated by the No. 4 ranked Ferris State University Bulldogs.

Cardinals junior quarterback Brad Odeman Jr. had 206-passing yards and no turnovers

Hornback said playing at home is a big advantage to the Wildcats. In the Dome the sound carries differently than on other fields. The ’Cats know how to compensate for not being able to hear snap counts but it throws off the opposing team’s offense. On top of that, the way the sound echos when the crowd gets going fuels the excitement in the team.

“This team is a family, and as a family you move on,” Ostrowsky said. “You kinda count on the trust that you have in each other as players and coaches. I think we were all pretty disappointed but you come back in on Sunday and the sun comes back up.”