The No. 19 NMU women’s soccer team and Head Coach Jon Sandoval have been building a winning culture since Sandoval was hired here in February of 2020. After Sandoval coached the ‘Cats to a 13-4-5 record, good for second most wins in program history, NMU could possibly break that record in just his third full season.

This week the ‘Cats traveled to Houghton, MI to face off against their longtime rival, Michigan Tech. NMU has dominated the matchup going 6-1-1 over the past eight matches and with the Wildcats playing this well the hope was to get another win over the Huskies.

“If you start to have a game circled a month in advance, get ready to be really excited for that one,” Sandoval said. “You’re going to make mistakes before that, and we try to take this mentality of one game at a time focusing on each opponent at the right time. It’s a great rivalry, and we’re excited to play but we understand that this is going to be a massive challenge.”

The Huskies pushed the ‘Cats to their limit after holding a 1-0 lead with just five minutes left in the match. The ‘Cats created enough opportunities but were having a hard time finding the back of the net. After a penalty was called on the Huskies, second year Molly Pistorius scored a goal for NMU, securing the draw.

The Wildcats will now have a week off before starting a four-game road trip that will be highlighted by a rematch with No. 10 Grand Valley State next Sunday Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. The last match ended in a draw and with the season coming to an end, each game becomes more important. NMU sits at third in the GLIAC behind Grand Valley and Saginaw Valley.