The Northern Michigan University women’s soccer team will travel to Findlay University and Tiffin University for a couple of conference games on Friday, Oct. 9 and Sunday, Oct. 11.

The Wildcats got their first win of the season on Friday, Oct. 2 against the Malone Pioneers in a 5-1 rout.

“It was good to see the team be rewarded for all of their hard work,” head coach Matt Granstrand said.

Scoring for the Wildcats were junior forward/midfielder Carmen Villarruel, junior midfielder/forward Paula Hafner, sophomore midfielder Abby Cook, sophomore midfielder/forward Tabitha Boze and freshman midfielder Kelsa Dykehouse.

Junior keeper Alexandra Simmons recorded three saves for the ’Cats in the game.

“Our first win against Malone has been a long time coming,” Simmons said. “We finally found the back of the net and continued to put the ball away.”

Pioneer junior midfielder/forward Brianna Smith scored the lone goal for Malone to open the second half.

The Wildcats won 1-0 on Sunday, Oct. 4 over the Lake Erie Storm with junior midfielder Wynona Maravilla scoring the lone goal for the Wildcats.

“Wynnie scored a much-needed goal late in the game,” Simmons said. “From then on it was clear that if we stayed focused and didn’t let up for one second, we would come out with a win.”

Simmons recorded three saves in the game for the Wildcats.

“I thought both Malone and Lake Erie were quality teams and well-coached,” Granstrand said. “It was good to see us get rewarded for our play. All in all a great weekend.”

For this upcoming weekend, the Wildcats will be traveling to Ohio to face the Findlay Oilers and the Tiffin Dragons.

The Oilers are 1-7-2 for the season with a conference record of 0-4-1. Last season, the Wildcats beat the Oilers 4-0 with Hafner scoring two goals for the Wildcats.

Leading the Oilers this season is senior midfielder Katelyn Anderson, who has already scored five goals for the Oilers this season.

The Dragons are 2-6-1 this season and have a conference record of 0-5. The Wildcats beat the Dragons 7-0 last season. Hafner also scored two goals for the Wildcats in that match.

Dragon sophomore midfielder/forward Svetlana Gudenkova has led the Dragons this season, scoring six goals and recording three assists.

“We’re going to continue to focus and train hard in practice and prepare ourselves for our next games in Ohio,” Simmons said. “I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we don’t want this feeling of winning to go away anytime soon.”