NMU Men's Soccer Season Ends In Overtime Loss

This story was written by NMU Sports Information

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University men's soccer team (4-3-1) fought hard from beginning to end in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament quarterfinal match Sunday that ended 1-1 with Davenport University advancing 4-1 on penalty kicks.

"It was a memorable way NMU to end the season and the first postseason match ever in the Superior Dome," said head coach David Poggi. "Each team had chances in the overtime periods and I think we had one of our best performances of the season."

"There is a saying that goes 'you're only as good as your last game' and I feel we had our best outing today," the coach added. "This was another step forward for this team. It gives us momentum and experience for a young team in the postseason with the added experience of going to penalty kicks."

The visiting Panthers had the first goal of the contest with a point put up for the team in the 8th minute of the match.

Shawn Clarke pulled the Wildcats even with a goal, the first of his collegiate career, in the 42nd minute. A Brady Kronenburg throw in bounced off the chest of Alex Scott and rolled to the right. Clarke took control of the ball 13 yards from the top of the box and took a deep shot that found the back of the right side of the net.

Neither team was able to score in the second half or either overtime period.

The statistics from the final half and both overtimes were almost identical for both teams.

NMU edged Davenport 10-9 in shots in the second half while both teams had two shots each in each overtime period. The teams were also identical in saves in the second half (4) and the first overtime (1) while Davenport collected the only two saves of the second OT period.

With the defenses showing up big for both teams in overtime, the match was forced into a penalty kick shootout.

The Panthers made all four of their attempts while Niko Scheibal was the only Wildcat to earn a successful PK make.

The teams tied 1-1 but Davenport advanced to the next round of the GLIAC Tournament with a 4-1 penalty kick tally.

NMU ends the season 4-3-1 overall with a conference mark of 4-3.

NMU once again controlled a majority of possession. The Wildcats had the ball for 51-percent of the match.

Ryan Palmbaum and Kaffie Kurz had a team-high four shots each with each having two of their shots on goal.

Quinn Putt and Clarke each notched three shots while Scheibal and Casey Miller added two each. Keegan Schmidt ended with one shot.

Goalkeeper Alex Weaver had seven saves for the Wildcats in 110 minutes of action. The sophomore finishes the season as the only keeper to take the pitch for NMU.

"We asked the team before the game to leave it all on the pitch and to play with the desire to improve as a team and individuals. Every player who took the field today did those things," said Poggi. "That is exciting and I consider that a victory for our team."

"This was a difficult season for lots of reasons and I am proud of my team," added Poggi. "They worked hard and dealt with lots of adversity and uncertainty. I want to thank everybody who helped make this season possible. This program continues to grow and I am looking forward to the fall season," the coach concluded.