Ghouls, witches, ghosts and creatures of all sorts roamed the streets of Marquette as the NMU men’s soccer team roamed into their final two matches of the regular season — looking to cap off their seniors with a successful finish heading towards the playoffs.
A hungry Northern side clawed at the GLIAC powerhouse Roosevelt — the night of Halloween as a means to usurp an emperor of the division and etch a statement into the turf. A victory for Roosevelt on both matchups for the weekend would see them as consecutive regular season champions — but the candy-sack Cat-pack sunk the Lakers, stealing three points the same way kids steal handfuls from the ‘take 1’ porch candy bucket.
NMU set the tone with a 40-yard slingshot from Allessandro Scialanga — leaving opposing keeper Eric Carvajal unable to do a thing as the screamer sailed past his domain just 40 minutes into the faceoff. “Scialanga is absolutely massive for our team,” Head Coach Alex Fatovic said. “He’s an even better person than he is player, and I think he’s the best left back in the country. For him to come back from injury, help his team, and then score a goal like that — it’s an unbelievable story.”
Just minutes later, Roosevelt went down a man after a red card to forward Nikola Dimitrijevic. NMU wasted little time capitalizing, as Ian Weimer headed home a cross from Luca Rosen early in the second half to double the lead.
The Lakers managed one goal in response, but goalkeeper Asaf Kristal stood tall, stopping nine of ten shots – including a last-second save on GLIAC goal leader Fynn Mewes. “He’s steady, experienced, and has been in these types of situations before,” Fatovic said of Kristal. “After conceding, you need someone with ice in his veins – and he demonstrated that today.”
The win kept NMU’s postseason hopes alive, setting up a pivotal senior day matchup against Purdue Northwest. Two days later, the Wildcats delivered their most complete performance of the season, earning a 3-0 win to lock in the No. 3 seed for the GLIAC
Tournament.
“This program means a lot to me and my family,” Fatovic said after the finale. “To see the guys grow – not only over four years, but even in just the last few weeks after turning a tough weekend into three straight wins – I’m just so proud of them. Every day is a climbing day for us, and they definitely climbed again today.”
Forward Luca Rosen shined once more, scoring twice to reach nine goals on the season — the second-most in NMU history — while Weimer added his third goal in as many games. “When Rosen gets isolated, he’s going to score,” Fatovic said. “The combination between him, Weimer, and Van Gansewinkel has been really strong lately, and Ian getting on the scoresheet again — he’s just getting better every game.”
The weekend also marked a fitting farewell for NMU’s seniors – Scialanga, Jan Hoffmann, Max Rebori, Triston Nelson, Harry Gray, and Mads Huegel – who all saw time and made key contributions in their final regular-season match. “I’m really proud of the seniors,” Fatovic said. “To see them playing at this level at the end of their careers means a lot. This whole group has
put in the time and energy, and I’m really grateful for that.”
The Wildcats now prepare to host Purdue Northwest once again in the GLIAC Quarterfinals — only the second home postseason match in program history. Riding a three-game winning streak and with Weimer named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week, NMU enters the playoffs playing its best soccer of the season.
“We’ve been in playoff-style matches for the past few weeks now,” Fatovic said. “It’s really no different for us. One game at a time, one practice at a time — it’s a fight every game in the GLIAC.”
Kickoff for the quarterfinal rematch is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9, in Marquette.
