Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) Women's Soccer team will host two regionally ranked opponents, Northwood and Cedarville, in Marquette as the Wildcats seek their first win of the 2025 season. Under new head coach Erin Egolf, NMU currently holds a record of 0-0-2 after opening the season with two draws.

The Wildcats are scheduled to play Northwood, ranked fifth in the Midwest Region, on Thursday, September 11 at 1 p.m., followed by a match against sixth-ranked Cedarville on Saturday, September 13 at noon. Both games will take place at home.

In their opening weekend, NMU played to a 1-1 draw against St. Cloud State and then secured a scoreless tie for their first clean sheet of the year. Senior Isabella Lorens scored NMU’s only goal so far this season, while goalkeeper Jillian Thompson made eight saves across both matches and earned her first shutout of the campaign.

Thompson was recognized as GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week following her performance. She leads all GLIAC goalkeepers in goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts after week one. Last year, she set a program record with 14 shutouts in a single season.

Northwood has played just one game so far this season—a 1-0 victory over Saginaw Valley—secured by G-MAC Defender of the Week Ava Kettler. The Timberwolves were picked to finish second in their conference according to the G-MAC preseason coaches poll and return several key players from last year’s squad that reached the G-MAC Championship Game and won the 2023 G-MAC Tournament.

Cedarville comes into Saturday’s matchup having faced multiple GLIAC teams during its non-conference schedule. The Yellow Jackets opened with a win over Ferris State before narrowly losing to Grand Valley State. Cedarville returns senior defenders Sophie Browndyke and Maddie McConnell—both all-conference selections—and has made three NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons.

Coach Egolf emphasized preparation for each opponent: "[We prepare] for every game like it's going to be the hardest team we play all year… Everything is geared toward being the best we possibly can be on game day, no matter who we play. Last year doesn't matter, the year before that doesn't matter; what matters is the here and now."

Other notes from NMU's opening weekend include freshman Lily Senese recording her first career point with an assist on Lorens’ goal and four players—Thompson, Hannah Kastamo, Irene Killunen, and Addison Wargo—playing every minute across both matches. Alyse Daavettila contributed her first career goal last season against Cedarville when NMU won their only previous meeting between these programs.

Fans can follow updates on Instagram (@NMU_wsoccer) or X (formerly Twitter) (@NMU_wsoccer), or watch live streams for both upcoming matches.