This story, photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The NMU men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to the defending GLIAC champions, the Roosevelt Lakers, Sunday, in suburban Chicago.
The Wildcats (2-2-3, 1-2-0 GLIAC) lost its first game on the road this season, as they found themselves in the midst of a physical game. The teams combined for 37 fouls and eight yellow cards, with seven of the bookings going against the Wildcats. Despite the adversity in road matches, head coach Alex Fatovic was still proud of how his team played.
"I'm extremely proud of the guys today, another amazing performance and hard-fought battle against the reigning GLIAC champions and a ranked regional opponent. We had to adjust with our captain [Alessandro Scialanga] going down 10 minutes in, and then his replacement, Jan Hoffmann, another senior leader, also goes down, and through all that adjusting, our back line didn't miss a beat.
"The guys are rightly frustrated [with the result], but the passion, fight, and spirit [with this group] is something I have never seen with this club. The guys are really fighting for each other, and it's amazing to be apart of."
Nine of the 11 starters played 78+ minutes today, including a full 90 minutes from Asaf Kristal, Terry Grimaldi, Quint Van Roij, Teun Van Gansewinkel, and Owen Rutledge. Ian Weimer and Isaac Cervantes added big minutes from the bench today, with 53 and 58, respectively.
"At the end of the game we were still pushing to create chances, but we're walking away with zero [points], so the message is that we have to score on our chances... But at the end of the day, extremely proud of the guys, huge efforts across the board all weekend. Fortunately we have a week before our next match, and we will rest and recover."
The defending GLIAC regular season champion and eighth-ranked team in the Midwest region, the Lakers (4-1-3, 2-0-1 GLIAC), scored from a bicycle kick with 50 seconds to play in the first half, a goal that would stand as the eventual game-winner. The Lakers were held to nine shot attempts with four shots on goal, its fourth and third-fewest marks of the season.
The counting stats were all very comparable today: the Lakers held a slight edge in shots (9-8) and shots on goal (4-2), and the Wildcats had a slight edge in corner kicks (5-4). Possession percentages were similar as well, with Roosevelt edging NMU at 52% for the match. When in possession, Northern was in the attacking end 57% of the time compared to Roosevelt's 49%.
Seven is the most yellow cards shown in a single game in program history, aside from the 13 yellow cards shown to the Wildcats in the final game of last season (NMU scored a last-minute game winner, and the team stormed the field to celebrate. Seven of those 13 bookings were given to NMU players who came off the bench to celebrate).
