Men’s Soccer looks to move past last weekend’s struggles
AVENGING LOSSES—NMU freshman midfielder Dominik Vyleta goes to kick the ball during the Wildcats’ 1-0 win over Purdue Northwest on Friday, Sept. 24. NMU now shifts it focus to a road match with UW-Parkside on Sunday after losing two matches last weekend. Travis Nelson/NW
October 6, 2021
The NMU Men’s Soccer team comes off of a tough weekend on the road, falling in both matches this past weekend against Upper Iowa and St. Cloud State.
The ‘Cats (1-6-2, 1-4-1 GLIAC) are now on a three-game losing streak, and have lost six of their nine matches on the year. Against an Upper Iowa team that has had growing pains since joining the conference, it was a lack of focus early against the Peacocks that contributed to a 3-0 loss on Friday.
“It doesn’t make any sense when you look at it on paper, and it didn’t make much sense to me looking from the sidelines,” Head Coach David Poggi said. “We just didn’t show up in the beginning and there’s a lot of different reasons for that. But none of them were acceptable, and as a coach when you see that, you try to make adjustments with the personnel that you have.”
The message remains that if you don’t come to play this year against every GLIAC team, you’ll leave with a bad taste in your match, Poggi added.
“It’s just a very, very equal playing field in the GLIAC, and you just have to show up,” Poggi said. “You’ve got to be ready to go on the bench to fill those needs and if you’re not, that’s another lesson learned.”
Sunday’s match didn’t work out for Northern either, losing to St. Cloud State by a 3-1 decision. NMU has an opportunity to bounce back this weekend with only one game on Sunday, Oct. 10 against UW-Parkside. The Rangers are currently in second place in the conference standings with a 4-2 record in conference play. Even against stacked competition moving forward, Poggi believes in his team.
“It’s not rocket science,” Poggi said. “It’s a matter of going out there and wanting it and staying focused. I think that we need to make sure that those things are addressed over this next week. We’re going to have six teams in the tournament, we just have to make sure we make it into the (conference) tournament. Because I’d take my team over any of them if they’re playing right.”
The Wildcats’ newest challenge on the road in Kenosha, Wisconsin kicks off at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
