In hopes of hosting a home playoff game for the first time, the Northern Michigan University Men’s Soccer team’s season ended abruptly as they lost the regular season finale to the Northwood University (NU) Timberwolves 2-1.

Just a few days later in the GLIAC Quarterfinals, the Wildcats ended their season, falling again to NU 1-0.

In last Friday’s game, both sides started the game off with four shots each. Sophomore midfielder Luca Lippert and senior forward Sam Popp each had a shot-on-goal during that span. The Timberwolves got on the board after a goal by Austin Hobbs in the 27th minute. NU would take a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
NMU turned up the offensive tempo in the second half, resulting in a goal by Lippert at the 52nd minute to tie the game at 1-1. The game remained tied until the 64th minute when Northwood’s Josh Wates sent a free kick into the net to reclaim the lead at 2-1.

The Timberwolves defense stood strong against the Wildcats offense and sent NMU their fifth loss of the season.

Freshman goalkeeper Valentin Kliebe made three saves in the contest, including a big save late in the game on a penalty kick.

In the regular season, Kliebe finished second in the GLIAC conference in saves, goals-against-average and save percentage.
In the GLIAC Quarterfinal on Tuesday, NU outshot NMU throughout much of the first half, but the Timberwolves were held to only a pair of shots-on-goal. Freshmen midfielders Kaffie Kurz and Anthony Sweler provided the only shots for NMU as the game remained scoreless heading into halftime.

In the 60th minute, NU scored the only goal of the game after the Wildcats made a successful stop, but NU’s Austin Hobbs deflected the ball into the net. NMU put only two shots-on-goal for the rest of the game and the Timberwolves held on to eliminate the Wildcats from further playoff contention.

Kliebe recorded four saves to complete his season total of 67. He went on to set new program records in saves, save percentage and goals-against-average. He also notched three shutouts alongside a combined shutout with fellow freshman goalkeeper Patrick Restum.
Popp ends his soccer career as the highest scorer in team history with 16 goals and 40 points. Popp, along with junior midfielder Callum Olpin, were the only Wildcats to record double-digit points.

The Wildcats finish at .500 for the first time in team history with a record of 6-6-5. The record also matches the number of wins from the Fall 2017 season and clinched a playoff berth for the second year in a row and in program history.