The NMU Women’s Soccer team won this weekend against UW-Parkside 1-0 on Sunday, Oct. 16. The Wildcats and the Rangers played a tough game that could have ended in a tie, but with 10 minutes left on the clock, freshman Maria Storm scored the only goal of the game and secured a win for the Wildcats. 

“Good teams find a way to win, and I think that’s something that we did this weekend,” head coach Jon Sandoval said. 

The ‘Cats also faced off against Purdue Northwestern this weekend and took home an even bigger win of 3-0 on Friday. The game started out similar to the Parkside game with all goals coming from the second half. 

“I think the players did a good job coming out with a lot more intensity, energy and execution,” Sandoval said. “I think Hannah [Kastamo] got going within the first 30 seconds [of the second half and] scored a really nice goal. It’s kind of interesting, we score the tougher ones sometimes rather than the easier ones.” 

Sunday’s game against UW-Parkside was also Senior Sunday where all the senior players were honored. The NMU Women’s Soccer team has four players graduating this season: Shenae Kreps, Natalie Stampfly, Rachael Erste and Evalyn Flor. Both games were played at home which Sandoval said helps improve moral and future games on the road.

“We have to take care of the ones at home to make the road feel a little bit less pressure,” Sandoval said. “And I think we’ve done that so far this year … Every time we leave Marquette, we have got to be able to secure points on the road.”

The next three games for the ‘Cats are on the road as they look ahead to Saginaw Valley State on Oct. 21, Ferris State on Oct. 23 and Michigan Tech on Oct. 28 to close out the main season. This will be a critical period for the Wildcats with the GLIAC quarter finals are on the horizon.

“A lot of credit to the players for being able to get those results just because at this course of the season, you have other teams that are fighting really hard at this point trying to jockey for those positions within the conference,” Sandoval said. “So, every match down the stretch and every match till the end of the year is going to be tough no matter who you’re playing.”