Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University women's soccer team secured a place in the GLIAC Championship by defeating Ferris State Bulldogs 4-1. This victory marks the second consecutive season that the Wildcats have reached the championship match, which will be held in Marquette for the first time. It is also their third appearance in four years under head coach Jon Sandoval.

Molly Pistorius opened the scoring just four and a half minutes into the match with an assist from Isabelle Brusilow. Calihan Bearden added another goal six minutes before halftime, assisted by Brooke Pietila. The Wildcats dominated the first half, outshooting Ferris State 14-1 and leading 2-0 at halftime.

In the second half, Pistorius scored again, along with Madison Bilbia, extending NMU's lead to four goals. Goalkeeper Jillian Thompson made six saves during the game. The Wildcats now hold a record of 15-1-4 overall and remain unbeaten at home with an 8-0-3 record. Meanwhile, Ferris State ends its season with a 7-9-4 record.

Isabelle Brusilow expressed her satisfaction after the match: "I'm really proud of us and the way we came out with hunger and playing for each other, and we did what we needed to do and what we talked about this week. Very happy with the result, and time to look forward to Sunday."

Pistorius's performance included her fourth multi-goal game of the season and brought her total to a GLIAC-leading 14 goals this year. Her achievements have placed her second for most goals in a season at NMU and third for points in a season as she ranks eighth in career points as a sophomore.

Calihan Bearden scored her first goal of this season while Madison Bilbia recorded her second goal of this campaign. Assists were provided by Brusilow, Pietila, and Stephanie Trujillo.

Thompson achieved her GLIAC-leading 14th win this season as NMU outshot Ferris State 26-13 overall with an on-target advantage of 11 to seven shots. The Wildcats earned five corner kicks compared to two by Ferris State, who received two yellow cards and one red card towards game's end.

Looking ahead, NMU will face Parkside Rangers in Marquette for Sunday's GLIAC Championship game scheduled at 1 p.m.