Great Lakes Wire

After securing back-to-back GLIAC Regular Season Championships, the Northern Michigan University (NMU) women's soccer team will host the Michigan Tech Huskies in the conference quarterfinals. The Wildcats, holding the first seed, are set to play at home on Tuesday.

The Wildcats ended their regular season with a record of 11-3-4 overall and 9-2-3 in conference play, amassing 30 points. They achieved draws against Grand Valley State and Saginaw Valley on the road last weekend to clinch the regular-season title. Meanwhile, the Huskies come into this match with a record of 6-10-1 overall and 4-9-1 in conference play, earning 13 points. Their recent games included a loss to SVSU and a draw with GVSU.

This upcoming match marks the second encounter between NMU and Michigan Tech this season. The previous meeting took place on October 11 in Houghton, where NMU secured a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Brooke Pietila and Justina L'Esperance. Sally Patton also contributed with a four-save shutout.

Historically, these teams met in postseason play on November 9, 2021. In that game, NMU emerged victorious with a score of 2-1 during the GLIAC Quarterfinals held in Houghton.

The Wildcats have been strong performers at home this season with a record of six wins and one loss. Under head coach Jon Sandoval's leadership, they have outscored opponents significantly at home while achieving five shutouts.

NMU's offensive prowess is highlighted by its top three scorers: Justina L'Esperance leads with ten goals and seven assists for a total of 27 points; Brooke Pietila follows closely; Molly Pistorius rounds out their scoring leaders. Notably, Pietila will set an NMU record by playing her 94th career game on Tuesday.

On the other side, Michigan Tech concluded its season without wins in its final three matches. Julia Pietila leads their offense ranking third in goals within the conference while Bri Barrows stands out as their goalkeeper having recently recorded a notable performance against GVSU.

The quarterfinal match is scheduled for Tuesday at NMU's home field starting at 2 PM local time. Fans can follow updates via @NMU_wsoccer or @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter), watch live through FloFC or check live stats online.