The NMU Women’s Soccer team comes off of a 1-0-1 record this past weekend with a 0-0 tie against Ferris State University and a 1-0 victory against Northwood University.

The two results push the Wildcats to an overall record of 4-2-1 and third place in the GLIAC standings. The season so far for the team has been completely new to the players facing COVID-19 restrictions, along with going from competing in the fall to a new scene of competing in the spring. They have embraced their chance to play and have used the extra time to hone their skills and teamwork. 

“The season so far has been good, with this season being in the spring we had a lot of extra time to practice and work with a new coach and a lot of new young players,” junior midfielder Calorline Halonen said. “I think the extra time really helped us develop our style of play and gave us time to see where everyone would fit. It has been fun to see our work translate to better results so far.”

Ferris State holds the conference’s top seat right now in the standings, and the ‘Cats knew they would have to play their hearts out heading into the game on Friday, April 9. NMU held off the Bulldogs after a long and grueling 0-0 stalemate.

“We started the weekend off with Ferris who is always a really good team and we were able to hold them to zero goals which was a good confidence boost for our defense,” Halonen said. “That game was a 110-minute battle.”

Facing Northwood was no easy task for the team either. They did however find the strength to create an opening for Halonen to score the lone goal of the game in the 1-0 win.

“We didn’t change anything going against Northwood,” Head Coach Jon Sandoval said. “We had a pretty good idea of who they are and we definitely know who we are.”

Northern now plays against Purdue Northwest University this Friday, April 16 and against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday, April 18. Both teams may be rated lower in the conference standings, but the Wildcats are sure to give them their full attention. These games will close out the regular season before heading into the GLIAC Tournament.

“We’re definitely expecting a battle,” Sandoval said. “But, these are games that we definitely believe we should win.”

NMU will host both games in the Superior Dome over the weekend, with Friday’s game kicking off at 1 p.m., and Sunday’s game beginning at 4 p.m.