Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University Men's soccer team faced a challenging match against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, resulting in a 2-1 defeat. The Wildcats, now holding a record of 2-8-1 overall and 1-5 in the GLIAC, struggled against Parkside, who improved to 7-1-2 overall and 5-0-1 in the conference.

Parkside dominated with an 18-6 shot advantage but managed only a one-goal victory. Head coach Alex Fatovic acknowledged the effort of his team despite the loss: "Another tough day for the cats against a top team in Parkside. There is absolutely no drop in our effort, intensity and their fight for one another. However, the difference today is one team really displayed their quality in the final third and we didn't."

Fernando Abascal scored his first goal of the season for NMU with an assist from Cian Tunney. Six players contributed shots on goal, while junior goalkeeper Bryce Beckley made seven saves.

In the first half, both teams showed strong efforts, but Parkside secured a lead at 35:12 with a goal that slipped past Beckley's fingertips. In the second half, Parkside capitalized on turnovers to score again at 55:16.

NMU continued to push forward and found success when Cian Tunney assisted Fernando Abascal for a goal at 85:21. Despite their efforts, NMU could not find an equalizer before time expired.

Looking ahead, NMU will face Purdue University Northwest at home on Sunday, October 8.