Over the week, the women’s soccer team traveled to Duluth and St. Cloud, Minnesota, where they faced off against the University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State.

The team ended the Minnesota road trip with a split. The Wildcats won their first game against Duluth 6-1 and lost their second to St. Cloud 1-2.

Last season, women’s soccer ended its season with a record of 16-2-4 and walked away with the GLIAC championship. The last time the team played Duluth, Northern won 4-3, and they won 3-0 when they played St. Cloud last year.

“I felt like we were, myself included, maybe too arrogant approaching that match. I’m hoping that’s something that we can learn from, not only the players, but the coaching side, the staff too, has to recognize that to show up and think anything less than 100% will get us a result is not accurate,” Head Coach Jon Sandoval said.

In the win over Duluth, Sophomore Midfielder Madison Bilbia had two goals. Sophomore Goalie Jillian Thompson had three saves in the game.

“It was exciting. The energy, just the enthusiasm within the locker room and the warm-up was really sharp. They definitely felt like they were ready, and that played a part. It was great to get that many goals,” Coach Sandoval said.

Senior Defender Calihan Bearden scored the only goal for the women’s team in the St. Cloud game. Goalie Jillian Thompson also had two saves in the game.

“Believing that we’re just going to show up and give anything less than 100%, based on where we are as a program, is really naïve to think we can do that and just win, and that’s exactly what happened. I take full blame for it too, for not preparing them and not recognizing that we are not the same team that we were last year,” Coach Sandoval said, when asked about the St. Cloud game.

This week, the team will travel again, heading downstate. The team will first play Cedarville University on Thursday, followed by Northwood on Saturday. The road trip will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 12, against Cedarville and will conclude with Northwood on Saturday, Sept. 14.

“We did not schedule light this year. We wanted to have a challenge, and I think it’s proving to be that way,” Coach Sandoval said.

After the road trip, the team will host its first home games of the season for homecoming week. They will enter GLIAC conference play, hosting both Grand Valley State on Friday, Sept. 20, and Davenport on Sunday, Sept. 22. For the rest of the season, the Wildcats will be in GLIAC conference play.