Women’s soccer had a terrific year as they finished off the regular season 11-2-5, shutting out opponents eight times and allowing only 12 goals against them for the season. NMU shut out its first two opponents of the GLIAC tournament as they faced off against UW-Parkside in the first round winning 2-0 and following up with a 1-0 win against Saginaw Valley to send them to the GLIAC championships against Grand Valley State.

The ‘Cats came up a little short as they lost to the Lakers 2-1 in an intense matchup that saw NMU empty the bench in the first half.

“A large part of our success has been due to the players that maybe aren’t playing very much,” Head Coach Jon Sandoval said. “Maybe they’re coming off the bench and playing 20 to 10 to five minutes, but at the same they’ve shown up every single day in training, and they’ve competed 100%.”

The season is not yet over for the Wildcats as they have earned themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010.

“From a coaching standpoint, it’s just pure joy just because you know the amount of work and the amount of energy and the sacrifice and dedication that the team has done this year,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval and the team recognize their success comes with raised expectations from everyone, but they feel they are well equipped and prepared for the future. They continue to recruit players who will continue the culture coach Sandoval, his staff and the players are creating here at NMU.

“We just matured as a group along the way, and we understood what it takes to get there and so they totally bought into that method,” Sandoval said. “I think it’s something that they definitely deserve.”

The ‘Cats will face off against Maryville University in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Allendale, MI for the Midwest regionals Friday Nov. 11th at 11 a.m. Maryville ended the season with a GLVC championship and an 11-2-6 record. NMU will have a chance at a rematch against Grand Valley in the second round with a win over Maryville.

“Overall, they’re a very good team. They’re very well coached and their coaches had an amazing playing career too as well,” Sandoval said. “She’s top notch so I fully expect for them to be prepared. I fully expect a battle.”