The Wildcat soccer team began their campaign Thursday against Northwood, looking to loosen things up with a win against the G-MAC squadron. The game in question was partial to, but not limited by the incessant rain that kept muddying up the pitch – it just left the Green and Gold more Green and Brown by the end of the 90 minutes.
NMU had a solid first half, putting up 8 shots (3 on target,) keeping the Timberwolf goaltender’s feet moving. Notably, the Cats’ junior defenseman Davian Gumbs and sophomore strike-force Teun Van Gansewinkel would pair up for some great chances, combining for a total of 8 shots over the course of the match.
In the second half, NMU piled on the pressure by continuing to rack up shots – outside the box, half-volleys, sometimes even just passes towards the goal – trying to create a scoring opportunity. The Wildcats would close out the game with a whopping 18 shots against the Timberwolves’ 12 – although the game would end in a goal drought, 0-0 – as NMU failed to find the back of Northwood’s net. Redshirt junior, Asaf Kristal, stepped up when he was called upon in the net. Alongside handling easy saves – he shut down a frightening two-on-nothing situation that could have ended in Northwood stealing away the W and giving the Wildcats a rough first game loss.
Moving into Saturday, the Green and Gold were looking to further increase their volume of shots and try to be more creative moving forwards with the ball – the result? A 2-1 toppling of the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils.
It was the Netherlands native, Van Gansewinkel, who put the Cats up early, thumping in a backdoor cross to net the Cats their first goal of the season. In the 70th minute, with both teams perusing down each end of the field, a soaring cross floated up and away, and it was Gumbs who towered over everyone at the back post to knock in the game winning goal, giving the Cats a 2-1 victory over the Blue Devils.
NMU put up 18 shots – 9 on target, and head coach Alex Fatovic believes that was the key in squeaking out the win as they head into the second week of their season. “They shot more, they were more direct, they were more dynamic in getting in behind. And again, those are things we’re going to continue to work on in practice. Our ways of teaching is not through me speaking, or putting on a board or a video, it’s them actually doing it in training,” Fatovic said. The Wildcats will need to rely on those creative chances as they continue their season.
