Huskies Men’s Soccer Travels Back to Michigan This Weekend for Final Regular Season Match

Sunday, October 22

Marquette, Mich.

Noon CT

St. Cloud State

Northern Michigan

Huskies Men’s Soccer Travels Back to Michigan This Weekend for Final Regular Season Match

10/21/2023 2:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer

SCSU looks to solidify place in GLIAC standings against Northern Michigan Sunday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Soccer (3-6-4 overall, 3-3-3 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) travels to Marquette, Mich. to play Northern Michigan (2-9-3 overall, 1-6-2 GLIAC) in its lone game of the weekend on Sunday. The game will conclude the 2023 regular season for the Huskies and will help determine the seeding of the upcoming GLIAC tournament.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
The game will be streamed live on FloSports (FloFC) (note – paid membership is required). Live stats will be covered by Northern Michigan. Links to coverage options for the match can be found on the St. Cloud State Men's Soccer schedule page.

LAST TIME OUT
SCSU picked up two dramatic draws on the road last weekend after some set piece heroics late in each game.

On Friday, in Caledonia, Mich., the Huskies earned a 2-2 draw to Davenport (3-4-4 overall, 2-3-2 GLIAC) in cold, windy and rainy conditions. After a scoreless first half, DU broke through in the 55th minute taking a 1-0 lead. SCSU responded 11 minutes later after fifth-year midfielder Zinedine Kroeten (St. Louis Park, Minn.) put away a cross from sophomore midfielder Yuken Harmon (Coon Rapids, Minn.) to tie the game, 1-1. The Panthers would strike again, regaining the lead in the 83rd minute. SCSU earned a corner kick with 22 seconds remaining in the game. Junior midfielder Philip Caputo (Eagan, Minn.) took the corner with nine seconds remaining and sophomore defender Juan Villegas (Miami, Fla.) headed it home with just three ticks left on the clock to bring the game back to a tie, helping the Huskies who are in a tight race in the GLIAC standings.

On Sunday, the Huskies traveled to University Center, Mich. for the second game of the weekend against Saginaw Valley State (4-5-4 overall, 2-3-3 GLIAC). SVSU got on the board early, netting a goal just nine minutes into the match to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. The game remained 1-0 until the Huskies were able to score another late game goal off of a corner kick. In the 84th minute Caputo sent in a right- footed in-swinging corner kick that was headed down by sophomore midfielder Alesio Kacaj (Toronto, Ontario) to the feet of sophomore defender Owen Worsdell (Brighton, England). Worsdell settled the ball quickly and sent a first-time left-footed shot at the goal. His shot found the back of the net to bring the game back to an even scoreline. With the result, the Huskies are on track to host a GLIAC Tournament match for the first time in program history.

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday will be the sixth meeting all-time between Huskies and Northern Michigan. SCSU downed the Wildcats, 2-0 in its first matchup this season at Husky Stadium on Oct. 1. Worsdell and freshman midfielder Ronaldo Lopez (Baraboo, Wis.) each scored a goal in that game Caputo picked up an assist. The Huskies are 2-3-0 all time against NMU, winning the team's first clash in 2021 and most recent matchup earlier this year.

SCOUTING NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Northern Michigan enters the game with an 0-3-2 record in its last five matches, dating back to its first game against SCSU. The Wildcats overall record sits at 2-9-3 overall and 1-6-2 in GLIAC play and they will look to build off their last game in which they tied Davenport, 0-0 on the road. Northern Michigan is currently sixth in the GLIAC standings.

NMU employs an extremely balanced offensive attack – they have had seven different players score goals. Junior forward Cian Tunney leads the team in goals (two) and is the only Wildcat to score more than one goal this season. Tunney also leads the team in points (five – 2 goals and one assist). Graduate student forward Fernando Abascal
and sophomore defender Jan Hoffmann lead the team with 2 assists apiece and are tied for second in points (4 – 1 goal and 2 assist each). Hoffmann also leads the team in minutes played (1093) and shots (26). Abascal leads in shots on goal (12). Between the posts, sophomore Florian Palmowski started and played every available minute in the first eight games. He also played all of the tenth match. He holds a 2-6-1 record this season allowing 11 goals (1.22 goals against average), making 37 saves and earning three clean sheets. Junior Bryce Beckley got his first start in goal during the Wildcats ninth match. He didn't play in their tenth but has started and played every available minute in the last four matches. On the season, he has made 26 saves, allowed 6 goals (1.20 goals against average) and posted an 0-3-2 record with two shutouts.

GLIAC TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS
The top two teams in the GLIAC regular season standings receive a bye in the first round of the conference tournament and the third and fourth place teams host first round matchups against the fifth and sixth teams. Before Friday night's games around the league, St. Cloud State had sole possession of third place, but Davenport picked up a 3-2 win over conference No. 1 UW-Parkside. Now SCSU and Davenport sit even with one another (3-3-3 in conference play). With a win or a draw on Sunday against NMU, the Huskies are guaranteed to host a GLIAC tournament game for the first time in program history. If the Huskies lose, they could still host a first-round conference tournament game if Saginaw Valley State loses or ties UW-Parkside. Stay tuned to see where and when the Huskies will start their postseason journey.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Soccer, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.